The Pied Piper
by Raha
Summary: "What's that shadow there, in the corner of your eye? What's that footstep following, but never passing by? Perhaps it's only waiting, perhaps when we're all dead, out it will come slithering from underneath the bed." Warning for character death, dark themes, and love triangles.
1. Snow Day

**.oOo.**

 **Rise of the Guardians**

 **.:The Pied Piper:.**

 **{Chapter One: Snow Day}**

* * *

The air was a storm of snowballs.

Which was odd, seeing as it was the middle of July.

Jack Frost laughed breathlessly and ducked as one of them went whistling past his ear, already scrambling to scoop up a handful and return fire. Jamie Bennett gasped and dragged his giggling sister behind their make-shift snow-fort, his bright brown eyes peeking over the top at just the right moment and - WHAP!

"Gotcha!" Jack shouted, throwing his arms in the air in a victory dance while Jamie sputtered and wiped snow from his face. "Jack: 1, Jamie: 0!"

"Oh, don't worry, I'm sooo getting you back for that!" Jamie called out, kneeling down to pack together the biggest snowball he'd probably ever made in his life. He jumped when a second later Cupcake skidded into the spot next to him, her back hitting the snow wall and a huge smile plastered across her face. Jamie grinned, and tugged her closer with a conspiratorial look in his eye.

"Hey, draw Jack's fire for me, okay? I'm gonna flank him from behind," he whispered. Cupcake glanced over the wall at Jack, then shot Jamie a wolfish grin, before she jumped to her feet and charged straight at Jack with a roar. As expected, Jack took the bait, and flitted around the girl, pelting her with snowballs. Jamie sucked in a breath and seized the opportunity, dashing off in the opposite direction and taking careful aim...

Jack burst out laughing when Jamie's shot found is mark, smashing straight into the back of his head. Then, right after that he got double-tapped, when Pippa's snowball splattered across his chest and a second later another from Caleb smacked into his shoulder.

"Alright, alright!" he cried, when a pair of surprisingly strong arms wrapped around his middle. "You win!" he shouted, while Cupcake wrestled him to the ground with a howl of laughter.

"Victory is mine!" Cupcake bellowed to the sky, plonking herself down on Jack's stomach and pinning him firmly to the ground, her arms thrown up in triumph.

"Victory! Victory!" Sophie cheered, throwing herself across Jack's chest, followed closely by the other children.

"Dog pile!" Jamie shouted, practically throwing himself on top of his sister and tickling her sides, making her shriek.

"You win! I surrender!" Jack cried again, laughing so hard he could hardly breathe.

Or maybe that was all the kids piled on top of him, but he couldn't bring himself to care. They could crush him into the dirt, and he'd still be as happy as a lark. After three hundred years, with no contact from a single living thing, Jack was in paradise. Even now, over a year after the defeat of Pitch Black, Jack still woke up afraid it had all been just a dream.

The Sandman patiently assured him it wasn't, no matter how many times he asked.

But then, Sandy had always been there, a friend throughout those long centuries before he became a Guardian, so it wasn't as if Jack had been completely alone. He'd had other companions, as well. The Wind, of course, and the Tooth Fairies sometimes stayed around if only to admire his teeth, the Leprechaun on a few occasions, even Bunnymund in his own gruff way (at least before the blizzard of '68, and by now he'd mostly forgiven Jack for that). He'd been fine, really. Just fine.

But... it was nice to be seen by those who still had a pulse. There was just something about the living that drew him, like they drew all Spirits.

Especially the children.

The Guardians were wonderful, but if there was one thing they couldn't do, it was PLAY.

Still giggling breathlessly, Jamie collapsed onto the snow next to the Guardian, rolling onto his back and watching as his breath rose in staccato vapor clouds above his head.

"Man, I still can't believe you made it snow in the middle of summer!" he grinned, laughing.

"Hey, don't say that, you trying to melt it all?" Jack scolded, and playfully flicked the tip of Jamie's nose.

"What do you guys wanna play next?" Monty asked, pushing up his glasses, while Jack, still pinned to the ground, started making a snow angel. Sophie and Cupcake giggled, then scrambled off of him so they could make one, too.

"You guys wanna go sledding?" Jamie asked excitedly. "There's this awesome hill near my house, we could use that!"

"Yeah, but it ends right at the road, doesn't it?" Pippa asked uncertainly.

"Oh, come on, there's never any cars around here," Jamie argued, waving her off. "Besides, Jack's with us. He won't let anything happen. Right, Jack?"

"Of course not," Jack snorted. "Like I'd let any of you guys get run over. Could hardly call myself the Guardian of Fun, then, could I?"

"No," Jamie giggled, shaking his head. "So, we can go sledding?"

"Sure!" Jack enthused. "Let's go!"

Jamie and the kids whooped and took off at a run towards the hill, Jack flying after them. A well-worn wooden sled, along with several flattened out cardboard boxes and an overlarge metal trash can lid, were piled up against the wall of Jamie's house.

Jamie picked up the sled, smiling at the memory of his wild ride down the street, courtesy of Jack just a few days before they'd met face to face. Cupcake gave him a friendly shove as she stepped past him, heading straight for the trashcan lid. Jack helped Sophie pick up one of the cardboard boxes, the Guardian grinning down at her while she tottered along at his heels.

They had reached the top of the hill, and it was the work of a moment to cover the whole thing in several inches of snow. Then Jack pulled Sophie in his lap, sliding them forward until they were sitting right on the brink. All they had to do was lean forward and –

There was a shrill, tittering call and Jack looked up with a bright smile as a tiny hummingbird fairy flew towards him. Baby Tooth swooned slightly at the sight of his teeth, before darting forward to shyly kiss his cheek and whisper something in his ear. Jack's face fell slightly as she pulled at his hoodie, but he nodded his understanding, a trembling smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"What did she say?" Jamie asked, staring in wonder at Baby Tooth. Sophie let out a small gasp of delight, and reached up for the little fairy. Baby Tooth smiled and landed on her finger. Sophie all but froze, her eyes huge, practically bubbling over with sheer joy.

"I'm sorry guys, but sledding's gonna have to wait," Jack told the kids, earning several groans of disappointment. "The Guardians need me at the Pole."

"Is…is Pitch back?" Jamie asked, a flash of unease in his eyes, like the shadow of a bird across a sunlit window.

"No, no, nothing like that," Jack waved his worries away. "This is _much_ worse."

"What could be worse than Pitch?" Claude asked, scrunching his nose in a frown.

"The Guardians…are throwing me a _party_ ," Jack intoned, his face deadly serious.

There was a beat of silence.

And then everyone burst out laughing.

"How is _that_ worse than Pitch?!" Jamie cried out, giving Jack's shoulder a playful shove.

"Hey, I'm serious!" Jack insisted, but his eyes were dancing, and he couldn't keep the grin off his face if he tried. " _Everybody_ is gonna be there! The Guardians, the Leprechaun, the Groundhog, Cupid, Mother Nature…It's a Big Deal! And I have to get up and make a speech in front of _everyone_."

"Why are they making you do that?" Cupcake wanted to know, frowning. She _hated_ having to talk in front of a bunch of people.

"North says we gotta make it official," Jack shrugged, clambering to his feet and brushing snow off himself. He sounded nonchalant and dismissive about the whole thing, firmly ignoring the knot of nervous anxiety in his stomach. "It's kind of overdue - I mean, I've been a Guardian for a year now - but everyone was so busy, we could never find the time, ya know? Bunny was practically pulling his fur out trying to get his Warren fixed up after after Pitch wrecked it. He's much better now that Easter's done with, but still..." He realized he was starting to ramble, and quickly got back on track. "Anyway, North thinks announcing it to the rest of the Spirit Realm will help more people to believe in me."

"I believe in you, Jack," Jamie said, smiling up at him. Jack wrapped his arms around the boy's shoulders, squeezing gratefully. Memories of a face so very much like Jamie's, with long brown hair, swam in his mind's eye, and Jack sucked in a deep breath as his heart swelled.

"I know," he said. "And you've got no idea how much that means to me."

"We believe in you, too," Cupcake said, wrapping her arms around the both of them and practically lifting them off the ground.

"Hug me! Hug me!" Sophie chirped, hanging off of Jack's leg.

"Group hug!" Caleb called, and then everybody piled in, until they'd all collapsed into a laughing heap in the snow. Baby Tooth rolled her eyes good-naturedly, and shook her head, before alighting in Jack's hair. Gathering several strands into her hand, she gave them an insistent tug.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming!" Jack chuckled, reaching up to wrap his hand around her and gently rub his thumb along the top of her head. "And while I'm gone, no sledding, alright?"

"Awww, but _Jack…_ " Jamie whined.

"I mean it!" Jack laughed. "No having any fun without me! Wait for tomorrow, okay? I'll make it another snow day, so we can sled all ya want then, deal?"

"Deal!" Jamie grinned, nodding enthusiastically. They bumped fists, blew them up, and Jack followed after Baby Tooth with a jaunty grin and a wave.

"I guess we should go home," Cupcake sighed, her shoulders dropping a little, and she kicked at a pile of snow. "It's no fun when Jack's not here."

"Hey, we can still have fun," Jamie argued, patting her shoulder. "Come on, let's slide down the hill. _Then_ we can go home. And hey, I bet if we bug her enough, my mom'll make us all hot cocoa before you have to go."

"Jamie, Jack said no," Pippa reminded him.

"What, you're not _scared_ of a little hill, are ya?" Jamie asked, turning to her.

"No, of course not," Pippa scoffed. "It's just…"

"Then come on!" Jamie wheedled, tugging playfully on her arm and grinning. "We'll just slide down once, Jack won't even know!"

Pippa hesitated, but then returned his smile shyly, and nodded.

"Okay," she said. "But just once!"

 **.oOo.**

Jack flew upon the Wind, heading towards the North Pole at break-neck speeds, Baby Tooth securely tucked away in his front pocket. That niggling seed of doubt and worry still sat in his heart, spreading tendrils throughout his chest, but he plastered on a wide grin and did a few loop-de-loops to ease the tension and work off some of his nervous energy.

It would be the first time he'd ever been in a room with so many people at once, after having been on his own for so long. Jack had tried telling the Guardians - several times - he really didn't need a big party, thank you very much, but of course North wasn't having any of it.

"Of course you want big party!" North had chuckled, waggling a finger in Jack's face, his eyes positively _twinkling_. "You are Guardian! Is time we celebrate!"

"If we had ta put up with it, so do you, mate," Bunnymund told him, slinging a furry arm around Jack's shoulders, his green eyes glowing as he smirked down at the winter spirit. Jack scoffed and tried to duck out from under Bunny, but the Pooka was too quick and dragged him back to thoroughly noogie his skull with thick, furry knuckles.

"Bunny!" Jack laughed. "Geroff me!"

Jack snorted at the memory, his mouth twisting slightly. Baby Tooth shot him a questioning look, but he merely shook his head, and went into a dive. The Wind whipped joyfully through his hair, tugging playfully at his staff like it might pull it from his fingers, before gently setting him down in front of Santa's Workshop.

"Thanks, Wind," Jack grinned, giving the air a salute, before he sauntered through the main gate. "Hey, Phil," he greeted, strolling past the Yeti with a friendly nod. Phil patted his head distractedly and grunted something in Yettish, before turning back to the bundle of decorations he was supposed to be hanging up.

Jack let out a low whistle upon seeing the main foyer. North had really pulled out all the stops. Silver and blue banners hung from the rafters, interspersed with fairy lights and tinkling bells, while streamers festooned the thick wooden columns and dressed up the windows. The floors had been polished to a mirror shine, and even the giant globe had been scrubbed until it gleamed. Six large wooden tables had been dragged out, and were all but groaning under the weight of what looked like enough food to feed a small country. Overhead, Tooth's fairies flitted to and fro, taking quick orders from Toothiana before zipping off again.

"Jack!" she called, spotting him from where she was hovering midair near the Globe, and suddenly Jack had an armful of Tooth Fairy.

"Hey, Tooth!" he grinned, giving her a squeeze around the middle, relishing the feel of her arms around his shoulders. He didn't think he'd _ever_ get tired of hugs. Now that he'd actually gotten used to them a bit, that is. At least he didn't tense up anymore.

"Hi!" Tooth said, drawing back with a wide smile before - unsurprisingly - reaching for his mouth. "Have you been brushing? And flossing, like I showed you? Oh, you have! Jack, they're just _gorgeous,_ I could look at them all day!"

"Tooth, fingers out of mouth," North said, with the tone of someone who'd resigned themselves to having to repeat those words many, many times. Tooth shot Jack a sheepish, apologetic smile before backing away.

"It's good to see you too," Jack smiled, chuckling, just before North swept him up into his arms.

"Jack!" North all but bellowed, squeezing he boy in a bear hug. "Is good to see you!"

"You saw me yesterday," Jack retorted, squirming, though not nearly as hard as he let on. Santa's hugs were the _best,_ after all. "You know, since I live here now."

North smiled, with a hint of smug pride, because _that_ had taken nearly _three months_ of constant wheedling and pleading and outright begging to accomplish. But once he'd found out Jack didn't have a proper _home_ to return to, just his frozen little pond, he hadn't been able to let the matter drop, no matter how much Jack insisted he was fine. Besides, it just made sense. Jack was a winter Spirit. North lived in the Arctic. It was perfect.

"But I miss you," North replied, setting Jack on his feet again. "Workshop is quiet without you underfoot."

"Now that's a bald-faced lie if I ever heard one," Jack scoffed, laughing. As if to prove his point, several escaped gyrocopters came whizzing through an open door, chased by no less than three Yetis, all trying to catch them before they crashed into something. They were unsuccessful, and one of the copters knocked loose a serving tray, sending the silver cutlery clanging off in all directions. Half a dozen elves panicked at all the commotion, and began to run in shrieking circles around their feet.

Jack glanced back at North and cocked a brow. North blinked. Then he shrugged massive shoulders, and made as if to brush off the whole debacle.

"Was just expression," he said, waving his hand.

Jack shook his head, and turned as a wisp of golden sand trailed past his nose. He grinned at the Sandman, who tipped a sand-bowler in return, and reached out to run his fingers through the dream-sand. A dolphin burst from the stream, nuzzled Jack's cheek, and began to cavort gleefully around the room. Bunny ducked beneath it as he entered, and ruffled Jack's hair on his way to the fireplace. It seemed that particular gesture was becoming a habit.

Jack snorted, batting the paw away and sending a slick of ice beneath Bunny's feet. The Pooka laughed, and leapt to the side almost quicker than Jack could blink, before skidding to a halt directly behind the boy.

"Too slow, ya bloody poofter," Bunny smirked, and ruffled Jack's hair _again,_ seemingly just to prove he could. Jack chuckled, and elbowed him in the ribs.

"So, uh…when is this thing happening, exactly…?" he asked.

As if on cue, there was a resounding knock, and the Guardians looked up as the door opened.

"Right now," North grinned down at him.

"Top o' th' mornin', me hearties!" called a cheerful voice, as the St. Patrick's Day Leprechaun strolled in, flanked on either side by two Yetis. He was perhaps a head taller than Sandy, wearing a bright green three piece suit, and wielding a polished walking stick with a golden shamrock as the handle. His wild red hair stuck out from beneath his green top-hat, framing bushy red brows and bright, bright green eyes.

Sandy smiled excitedly and floated over, the sand above his head already flickering through a barrage of pictures and imagery almost too fast to catch, but the Leprechaun didn't seem to have any trouble following along.

"Aye, tis good tae see ye again, my old friend!" he grinned, flashing slightly crooked teeth. Out of the corner of his eye, Jack saw Baby Tooth shake her head sadly at the sight.

"Connie!" North called. "Glad you could make it!"

"Oh, aye, I could'nae miss the chance tae meet the new recruit, now could I?" Connie replied, with a debonair tip of his hat in Jack's direction.

"What do you mean, 'meet' me?" Jack retorted. "We've known each other for years!"

"Aye, but ye weren't a _Guardian_ then, were ya?" Connie replied, clapping him on the back, before leaning in with a conspiratorial whisper. "Now ye can put in a good word for me now and again, eh, boyo? Been tryin' tae get on th' roster for decades!"

"You?" Bunny snorted. "What the 'eck have ya ever done for kids, 'cept get 'em pinched on St. Patrick's Day for not wearin' green?"

"Now, you listen here, ye rawny rabbit, I'd make a great role-model for them li'l whipper-snappers and don't ye deny it!"

"But ain't they always stealin' yer lucky charms?" Bunny asked, affecting an innocent look even while his eyes glinted with mischief – and then had to duck to keep the Leprechaun from smacking him upside the head with his cane. Jack clapped a hand over his mouth to cover his grin, trying not to laugh out loud.

"Ye know darn well I ain't got nothin' tae do wit' that blasted cereal!" Connie barked, his face going nearly as red as his fly-away hair.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Con," Jack said, slinging his arm around Connie's shoulders and pulling him away. "That grumpy old rabbit doesn't think _anyone's_ good enough for his little 'ankle-biters'. Personally, _I_ think he's jealous."

"Oi, watch it, Frostbite," Bunny warned, but there was a grin tugging at his whiskers. "Or I'll tell the Groundhog _yer_ the one who keeps messin' with his predictions. I know you've been sneaking snow days in Burgess again."

"Oh, _believe me_ , I already know," sniffed a pompous voice, and Jack turned to find a large, bespectacled rodent standing directly behind him. The Groundhog straightened his purple waistcoat while Jack tried not to have a heart-attack, his beady brown eyes slightly disapproving as they roved over the boy's mussed hair and bare feet. "So…you're the new Guardian, are you? The Man in the Moon must have been truly desperate to choose someone like _you_."

"Right, 'cause an overlarge rat who can predict the weather is so much better, ain't it?" Bunny interjected before Jack even had the chance to acknowledge the twist of pain those words elicited. He shot the Pooka a slightly grateful look, biting his knuckles to keep from laughing while the Groundhog sputtered with indignant fury.

"Why, you arrogant little - I'll have you know I serve a _very_ important role, thank you very much! Your precious Easter wouldn't even _occur_ without _me_ to usher in Spring!"

"How do _you_ usher in Spring, mate?" Bunny laughed. "All ya do is crawl outta yer hole in th' ground and jump at yer own shadow!"

"Oh, and I suppose hiding a bunch of hard-boiled eggs all over the place is any better?" the Groundhog retorted peevishly.

"Now, now, let's not fight," North said, stepping forward with a glass of eggnog clutched in both hands. "Is time to be celebrating! Here, have a drink, Phil."

"How many times must I tell you?" the Groundhog sighed, scrubbing a paw across his short muzzle. "My name isn't _really_ Punxsutawney Phil, North."

"What is wrong with Phil?" North wanted to know. "Is good, strong name. Have Yeti called Phil."

"Gobaddah!" Phil the Yeti called, raising a glass in agreement.

The Groundhog merely rolled his eyes skyward, and shook his head in a long-suffering way.

"Philistines," he muttered under his breath, shooting the Pooka a nasty look behind North's back.

"Bludger," Bunny growled back.

"Oh man, are you two at it _again_?" someone laughed, and Jack ducked as Cupid tried to buffet his head as he came in for a landing, his tiny white wings beating the air furiously before his sandaled feet touched down with a heavy thump. Given the man's wide girth, it was like watching a bumblebee defy all logic and physics.

Cupid adjusted the quiver of arrows strapped across his back, hitched up his toga, and tossed his dirty blonde hair over his shoulder before turning to address his furry compatriots. "Why can't you guys just, like, _chill_ , already? I mean, isn't the world big enough for _two_ giant talking rodents?"

" _NO_ ," Bunny and the Groundhog said at once, glaring daggers at him.

"Whoa, no need to bite my head off, sheesh," Cupid said, holding his hands up and backing away. Then he spotted Jack, and a huge grin split his chubby face, lighting his baby-blue eyes.

"Jaaack!" he cried, throwing his arms around the boy's shoulders and picking him up in a bone-crushing hug. Jack stiffened, a wave of discomfort flooding his stomach at the contact, but he tamped it down and awkwardly patted the Love God's broad back. "Oh. Em. GOODNESS! You're even cuter than I remembered! Long time, no see!"

"Hey there, Cupid," Jack said, struggling to breathe. "Good…to see you…too."

"Duuude!" Cupid cried, setting him down again and thumping his shoulder with a bit more force than he probably meant to. "Congrats on makin' Guardian, yo! That's, like, _totally_ wicked awesome!"

"Thanks," Jack smiled, ducking his head slightly. "That means a lot, Cue."

"Cupid! Phil! It's so good to see you again!" Toothiana greeted happily, fluttering down to throw her arms around Cupid's shoulders in a friendly hug. "I can't believe how long it's been!"

"Like, I know, right?" Cupid agreed, hugging her back.

"For the last time, my name isn't - Oh, what's the use? Hello, Toothiana."

"Ah, I see I am not the first to arrive," and the group looked around to see that Mother Nature had just stepped into the hall. Jack's heart did a funny little somersault in his chest upon seeing her. Even though it had been centuries now since he'd actually laid eyes on her in person, he still remembered just how awe-inspiring (and terrifying) she could be. She was very tall, even taller than North, with a long beautiful face - the kindest and cruelest face Jack had ever seen - and eyes that changed with the seasons. As it was summer, they were the deep green hue of new leaves and fresh grass. Her skin was a dark earthy brown, contrasting nicely with the deep green of her hair, peppered with wild-flowers. Her dress seemed to be made from flowing water, ending in a train of clouds that constantly swirled about her feet.

She was followed by her twin daughters, April Showers and May Flowers. They both wore matching gowns, except April's was in hues of blue and grey, while May's was all pink and white. Both had long blonde hair, adorned with their favorite flowers, but April's was up in a complicated coiffure, while May's was in a long braid down her back.

"Hello, Jack," they both said, at exactly the same time, smiling prettily at him. Jack blushed and ducked his head slightly, waving at them a bit shyly. He didn't notice Tooth's slight frown, or the way her fairies tittered warnings at the two girls.

"Mona, is good to see you!" North greeted, pushing a mug of hot chocolate into Mother Nature's hands and kissing both her cheeks. "You are so unpredictable, I was not sure you'd come. I am glad you decided to drop in. And you brought your lovely daughters! Hello, girls!"

"Hi, North!" May smiled.

"It's been such a long time," April added.

"It's wonderful to see you, my friend. But I can't stay long, unfortunately," Mona said, smiling gently "There is a drought in the Sahara that needs my attention. But I wanted to congratulate Jack on becoming a Guardian."

"Ah, er…thank you," Jack said, feeling suddenly very timid as she smiled down at him. Technically speaking, as one of the weather Spirits, he'd fallen under her jurisdiction for the last three hundred years, before the Guardians took him under their wing. He'd only seen her a handful of times since he'd woken up in that lake, had spoken to her even less, but she always managed to instill in him a sense of fearsome awe.

"You've always been so good with children, Jack," Mona smiled. "I know you will make a wonderful Guardian. In any case, you can't be any worse than Nickolas when he first started."

"Why?" Jack asked, shooting North a side-long glance, while the man choked on his hot cocoa and furiously shook his head at Mona. "What happened?"

"Oh, he hasn't told you?" Mona said, raising a delicate hand to her mouth to hide the mischievous smile quirking her lip. "Well, before he became _Santa Claus_ , Nicholas…was a _bandit._ "

"No way!" Jack burst out, while North clapped a hand over his eyes and groaned.

"It was long time ago, I assure you," he said through clenched teeth, shooting Mona a dark look.

"You were a _bandit_?" Jack asked, laughing incredulously.

"How else do you think he got so good at breaking into people's homes?" Mona asked innocently, though the glint in her smiling eyes was _far_ from it.

"Many, _many_ years ago," North stressed, crossing his arms over his wide, barrel chest. "Is no big deal. And besides, I only stole from the fat and wealthy. _Never_ from children."

"So 'e says," Bunny added with a smirk.

"Is true!" North insisted, waving his mug around and nearly sloshing scalding hot cocoa all over Bunny's silver coat. The rabbit leapt out of the way just in time with a slightly panicked yelp.

"Oi! Watch it, mate!"

"Why don't we start on the food, before it gets cold?" Tooth interjected before things could get out of hand. "I mean, since everyone's here now."

"Wait, hold on," Cupid said, scratching his head. "Wasn't there one more…?"

"You mean Father Time?" May asked, cocking her head. "No one's seen him in hundreds of years. I doubt he'd show up now…"

"No, no, the other one," Cupid said, shaking his head. "You know, the spooky one."

"Oh, trust me, ya don't want _that_ one comin' 'round 'ere," Bunny cautioned, his ears tilted backwards and a grimace flitting across his muzzle.

"Who?" Jack asked, his brow furrowing. "You don't mean _Pitch_?"

"Aw, no, man," Cupid said quickly. "Who'd ever invite the _Bogeyman_ to a party? Although…maybe if ya did, he might actually lighten up…"

"Right, then we could all sing Kumbaya and roast marshmallows 'round the barbie," Bunny snorted, giving Cupid a flat look.

"After we finished giving each other make-overs and having a pillow fight," Jack added with a lop-sided smirk at the twins, who both giggled.

"I'm sensing a lot of negativity here," Cupid observed wryly.

"He _did_ try to _kill_ us all a year ago," Bunny pointed out.

"Good point."

"Alright, so if you weren't talking about Pitch, then who…?" Jack pressed.

"He meant the Piper," Bunny sighed, rubbing at the bridge of his nose.

"What, the…the _Pied_ Piper?" Jack said, raising a brow.

"I've heard of him, but I've never seen him. Who is he?" May asked.

"Dude! He's the Spirit of Halloween!" Cupid grinned. "No one knows what he looks like, though, cuz he always wears this wicked cool mask, and, y'anno, so does _everybody_ on Halloween so it's not really surprising you've never seen him. Cuz, like, _no one_ has. Super spooky, amirite?"

"Huh," Jack said, absently leaning on his shepherd's crook. "You know, I always thought Halloween was kind of Pitch's thing…Seems like it'd be right up his alley."

"Aye, but Halloween ain't aboot scarin' folks," Connie said, winking knowingly.

"It's about the souls of the dead," Bunny said lowly, ears flat against his back. "All Hallow's Eve is when the dead return to the land of the livin'."

"Even worse, there's all that _candy_ ," Tooth said, a shiver of horror running down her back – and then paused at all the looks everyone was giving her. "What?! Do you know how many _cavities_ all that sugar can cause?!"

"Now, now, is not all _that_ bad," North chided them.

"Hey, I can't help it," Bunny said, shaking himself slightly and holding up his paws. "Halloween's pretty much the exact _opposite_ of Easter. 'Sides, all them creepy little ghosts just ain't _natural_."

"Still don't see what's so bad about this Piper fellow," Jack said. "He's a Spirit like us, isn't he? And, come on, he can't be any worse than _Pitch._ "

"Yeah, but Halloween's just a side job," Bunny explained seriously. "For the rest of the year, the Piper acts as the Emissary of Death."

"Hold on…" Jack breathed. "You mean…the _Grim Reaper_? He's _real_?"

"Of course he's real!" Bunny retorted, lightly cuffing Jack upside the head.

"Yes, but no one has seen him for over six hundred years now," Mona added gently, laying a hand on Jack's shoulder. "Many believe he was locked away in the Underworld, before his Plagues could wipe out humanity. Death still occurs, of course, but it is not as rampant today as it was back then. Now only his Apprentice remains to take the souls of mortals."

There was a long beat of silence while Jack quietly mulled this over, before North finally shook himself.

"Come now, is no time to be thinking such things!" he cried. "Is time for party! Here's to Jack Frost!"

"To Jack!" everyone cheered, lifting their glasses in a toast.

Despite himself, Jack smiled.

 **.oOo.**

Unfortunately, like all good things, their celebration couldn't last more than a few hours. Mona, naturally, had been forced to leave early, while Tooth, Cupid and Sandy had full-time jobs to get back to. And though Christmas was still a good five months away, Jack could tell North was itching to get back to his workshop. With everyone leaving, Phil and Connie had decided to call it an early night, too, and bid them goodbye.

Still, it seemed that Bunny had been pulling his leg when he'd told Jack he'd have to give a speech, so that was something to be grateful for, at least.

Yawning, Jack pulled a small snow-globe from his pocket, and gave it a gentle shake.

"Takin' off, mate?" Bunny asked, lounging across one of the couches in front of the fire. Jack couldn't really begrudge him the break. He'd been working full-stop to fix up his Warren after Pitch had nearly destroyed it, determined to make next year's Easter the best yet in order to make up for the recent disaster. Jack had helped where he could, hoping to further patch up what damage had been done, not only to the Warren, but to their budding friendship. Bunny didn't often say it, but Jack could tell he was grateful.

"I just wanted to check on Jamie and Sophie," Jack replied quietly. Bunny's ears perked at that, and he sat up with interest, his nose twitching.

"Yeah?" he said. "Mind if I come along, then? 'aven't seen those little ankle-biters for a while now. Think it's about time I paid 'em a visit."

"Sure," Jack grinned.

"Oh, Jack," Tooth said, putting a hand on his shoulder before he had a chance to open a portal to Burgess. "Before I go, I wanted to ask…Have you been able to recall any more of your memories? Apart from what your teeth had stored away?"

Jack's smile fell a little, and he leaned against his staff, shaking his head quietly.

"No, nothing," he replied, glancing up at her through his lashes. "Sandy's been trying to help through his dreams, but all I ever get is snowballs fights and sledding. Not that I'm complaining, or anything, but still…It'd be nice to know who the rest of my family was, you know?"

"That's…I don't understand it, you ought to have remembered more by now," Tooth murmured, her brows drawing together with concern. "Have you tried opening your box again?"

"Yup," Jack nodded. "Several times. There's just nothing else in there."

Tooth and Bunny shared a look, before the fairy sighed and shook her head.

"Well, I'm sure there's a good reason for it, whatever it is," she said, smiling and squeezing Jack's shoulder. "Just keep trying. They'll come back to you eventually."

"Yeah," Jack said, though inwardly he wasn't so sure. "Thanks Tooth."

"C'mon, mate, let's get goin'," Bunny said, giving him a gentle nudge.

"Alright, alright," Jack grinned. "I'll see ya around, Tooth. And…thanks, guys. You know, for…for the party."

"Of course, you are family now!" North smiled, clapping him heartily on the back, hard enough to make his knees buckle. Sandy gave him two thumbs up, while Tooth and Bunny smiled and nodded. Somehow, they seemed to know Jack meant more than just the party. Jack fought down the silly little grin tugging insistently at his lip, sent by the warm, melty feeling spreading through his chest. That was happening a lot lately...

"I will see you later, yes?" North asked.

"Yeah, I'll be back in a bit," Jack nodded, and tossed down the snow-globe. Bunny thumped the floor with his foot, opening a tunnel, and they both vanished from sight.

 **.oOo.**

When Jack came out the other side of the portal, a nightmare was waiting for him.

A police cruiser was parked in front of Jamie's house, its lights flashing silently in the night.

Two men were loading a child-sized body bag into the back of an ambulance.

And from inside the house, Jack could hear someone crying.

* * *

 **I know, right? That's an awful way to leave it. But I've got chapter two up now, so at least you won't have to wait long to find out who's in the body bag ;P**

 **Anyway, something I wanted to mention here, is I don't think Jack was as lonely as some other stories I've read make him out to be. There's going to be _some_ of that, but not to the extent I've seen elsewhere. I mean, he seemed pretty familiar with Sandy in the movie, and Tooth's fairies even if he hadn't met _her_ personally, so I don't think it's a stretch that he'd met some of the other Spirits. Obviously he didn't get along with Bunny, especially after '68, but in my headcannon, he and the Leprechaun would probably have gotten on pretty well. I mean, they're both tricksters, for starters, so that's something. So, yeah, the whole Jack Is SOOOO LONELY trope isn't really going to be a thing here. **

**Speaking of Connie, sorry about introducing all those OCs ;P You'll see a few of them later, but they won't actually be a big part of the story. I mostly just needed party guests, and I got a bit carried away coming up with characters for the different holidays and such.**

 **The poem in the summary was adapted from a piece written by Darlene Walsh, though I initially heard it in Doctor Who. It seemed appropriate for the way this story is going.**

 **Don't forget to leave a review, and let me know what ya'll think so far, I love hearing from you guys.**

 **Raha**


	2. Fallen Child

**.oOo.**

 **Rise of the Guardians**

 **.:The Pied Piper:.**

 **{Chapter Two: Fallen Child}**

* * *

When Jack saw the ambulance - and what was being loaded inside - it felt as if the world just dropped out from under him. All the air was ripped from his frozen lungs, like he'd been punched hard in the gut, and his heart tripped within his chest.

The sky overheard began to spin in odd, drunken circles. For a moment, the whole world split off from itself, turning fuzzy at the edges, and both parts staggered in opposite directions before finally lurching back into each other.

He didn't notice when his knees hit the pavement. He didn't notice when Bunny came to a halt next to him, and stared with wide green eyes as the ambulance pulled away and disappeared around the corner. Slowly, he lowered onto all fours, and just…crouched there in the middle of the road, his ears laid flat against his spine, a fine tremor running beneath his silver fur.

Then, he took a shuddering breath, and levered himself to his feet.

"C'mon," he said lowly, moving towards the house. Jack, who had been staring blankly after the ambulance, gave a start, and his eyes darted to Jamie's front door with something like terror. An iron band seemed to close around his chest, forcing him to take quick, shallow breaths.

He didn't want to go inside.

Some childish part of him insisted that if he didn't, then somehow it would be okay. That this wouldn't be real. If he never stepped through that door…

…he wouldn't have to know who had died.

But a small, selfish part of him fervently hoped it wasn't Jamie. It made him feel sick and ashamed, and he buried it, pushing it as far down into himself as it would go. Because if it wasn't Jamie, then it was Sophie, and he didn't want _either_ of them to be gone.

He felt a paw on his shoulder and looked up at Bunny with wide, helplessly frightened eyes. He clutched at his staff like a lifeline, and willed his body to move, to do _something_ but just sit there, but it wouldn't obey.

But Bunny didn't snort, or shake his head, or turn away.

"S'alright, mate," he said quietly, running the paw down Jack's back in a soothing gesture. "I can go. Just sit tight, and I'll be right back."

Jack's throat had closed, blocking off anything he might have wanted to say - even if he'd been able to find the words - so he just nodded mutely instead. Bunny gave his shoulder one last squeeze, his gaze gentle and understanding, before slowly rising.

Bunny made it to the house in two leaps, only hesitating at the door for a moment. He glanced back over his shoulder at Jack, his heart clenching at the sight of his friend, the Guardian of Fun, looking so crumpled and lost. Then he sucked in a shuddering breath through his nose, and silently opened the door.

The broken sound of a child crying became louder, echoing down the darkened stairwell, and searing itself into Bunny's memory for the rest of his days. His heart climbed up into his throat as he moved up the stairs, and crept down the hall towards the slightly open door at the end.

He paused momentarily at Sophie's empty room, and suddenly he was running through the Warren with her astride his back. He was holding her in his arms as she fell asleep. He was saying goodbye, and she reached up to lay a hand on his nose.

Then he was hopping past Jamie's room, and the image of the young boy's face came into sharp focus. Bunny was looking up at him as he knelt on the road, explaining that Jack had gotten him to believe, right when he'd nearly lost all faith. His body had been too small to contain the well of gratitude and joy at that revelation, and his chest had heaved in rapid succession to the beating of his heart when he'd looked at Jack, nearly in tears at how _deeply_ he'd misjudged the winter Spirit.

At the time, they'd thought Jamie's had been the last light, but looking back on it, the Guardians realized there had been two. One of them had just been asleep at the time. But in those scant few seconds Jamie had given up, Sophie's belief held on.

She had _saved_ Bunny. They'd both saved him. They'd saved _all_ the Guardians, that night.

And the Guardians had kept in touch, in a myriad of little ways. Jamie found a new toothbrush in his bathroom. Sophie discovered the teddy bear she'd wanted for Christmas, several months early. A carton of painted eggs appeared in the refrigerator. Sometimes, a golden manta ray would glide through their bedrooms long before they actually fell asleep. And there were always beautiful, frosted images waiting on the windows when they awoke.

And now one of them was gone.

Bunny took a shuddering breath, and nudged the door open with his nose.

The sight that greeted him would be burned into his heart forever.

Sophie Bennett sat in her mother's lap, her arms tight around the woman's neck, and her face crumpled and red as she openly sobbed. The sound of it dug hooks into the Pooka, jerking him forward before he even knew what was happening. When Sophie saw him over her mom's shoulder, her wailing grew even louder, even more desperate, and she reached towards him, tears running in rivulets down her face. Chest tight, Bunny moved and pressed his nose into her palm.

"'m so sorry, little one," he murmured, his voice choked and strangled.

Sophie just cried harder.

"Jamie," she keened, reaching out to tug urgently on his ear, the word lancing through him like a dagger through the chest. " _Jamie._ "

"I'm sorry, Sophie," Bunny said again, clenching his eyes shut. "He's…Jamie's gone…"

Her mom was trying to soothe the girl, but he could see she was crying, too. Her shoulders were shaking, and her arms were tight around Sophie's waist, hugging her for all she was worth. A stab of sympathy shot through him, and he laid a gentle paw on her back, despite knowing she wouldn't feel it. Then, with a shaky breath, he slowly turned to go.

Sophie's cries grew in pitch, turning into agonized howls, and Bunny wanted nothing more than to sweep her up in his arms and take her away from all this. But of course he couldn't, he needed to get back to Jack, and tell him…his very first believer was dead.

"Don't worry, Sheila," he said, reaching out to cup Sophie's cheek in his paw. She held onto him with both hands, hiccupping and choking. "I'll be back. And…I know it hurts now, but it won't forever. Just hold on, okay? Can you do that for me?"

Sophie shook her head, pressing into his paw, and he ran blunt claws through her hair before finally pulling away. The sound of her sobbing followed him out into the hall…where he found Jack waiting for him.

Bunny had never seen the boy look so utterly broken.

He was clutching his staff in both hands, leaning on it as if he might collapse if he didn't. His icy blue eyes were glossy with tears, but he couldn't even cry properly because they froze the instant they touched his face. Something behind his eyes was breaking, shattering in a hundred sharp little pieces, each one slicing his heart to ribbons as they fell.

"…I'm sorry, Jack," Bunny murmured in a low, scratchy voice. Jack just shook his head, staring wordlessly at the door, looking lost and torn as he listened to Sophie cry.

"Jack…I…" Bunny started, but what on Earth could he say to make this _better_? The answer was, he couldn't. There just weren't any words. So, he reached out instead, and laid a paw on Jack's shoulder, gently guiding him back down the stairs and through the front door.

They stood on the front porch for a long time, silent. Instinctively, Bunny curled slightly in on himself, arms wrapping around his torso, seeking whatever warmth and comfort he could find. Jack simply stood there, staring up into the night sky, his expression blank with shock.

Then he took a step forward and began walking.

Bunny followed him numbly, feeling suddenly clumsy and slow as he stumbled over his own feet. He wasn't prepared for the strong gust of wind that hit him from behind, making the Pooka stagger forward onto all fours, as Jack was ripped away and carried up into the dark.

"Jack!" Bunny called after him, racing after the boy, but already he'd lost sight of him. A bank of thick fog had begun to unfurl across the sky, blotting out the stars, and Jack had vanished within it.

There was no moon tonight.

Bunny shivered as the temperature began to drop, his paws clutching at the thick fur on his chest as he ducked his head, ears laid back and his eyes shut tight against the wave of heart-sick agony that was threatening to overwhelm him.

It was not unfamiliar. He'd felt this sort of pain before.

But it did force him down on his haunches, made him curl in on himself until he was nearly pressing his forehead against the asphalt. And for a moment he was not E. Aster Bunnymund, Last Warrior of the Pooka Tribe. He was just a rabbit. A trembling, pathetic ball of fur and overwrought nerves _who_ _couldn't save_ _ **anyone**_ _-_

He jerked at the soft touch of a hand on his shoulders, and looked up into Sandy's concerned golden gaze. Tendrils of dream-sand reached out around them in all directions, and Bunny realized the Sandman must have spotted him while doing his rounds. Slowly sitting up, he scrubbed a paw across his eyes, and coughed hard against the thick knot in his throat.

It was beginning to snow.

But it was not the light, playful flurries Jack was known for. It was heavier, falling in malformed clumps of ice, and driven by a hard biting wind. With a start, Bunny realized he'd seen this kind of snow before.

"Sandy…" he said, nose twitching as he gazed up at the sky. A golden question mark appeared over Sandy's head, as the little man reached out to catch a snow-puff in his palm. "Sandy, I think we gotta problem. Get in touch with Tooth, tell her to meet us at the Pole. Something… something bad has happened."

Sandy looked up at him with worried, searching eyes, but he nodded and flew off to do as he was told. Bunny watched him go with sorrowful eyes, wondering how he was ever going to tell them, then with one last look at Jamie's house, he thumped the ground twice and vanished into a tunnel.

No flowers marked his passing.

 **.oOo.**

Toothiana stared into her mug of luke-warm hot cocoa without really seeing it. Every now and again she reached up to wipe away a stray tear, but other than that small motion she was unusually still. Baby Tooth sat quietly next to her hand, cooing softly at her, one tiny hand laying against Tooth's forefinger. Sandy sat across from them, watching with a worried expression as North and Bunny argued back and forth on what should be done about Jack. Their stress and worry was palpable, and it wouldn't be the first time things had come to blows between them.

Their newest member had been gone for _three days_ , and in the meantime the snow-storm in Burgess had not stopped. North was concerned they'd have to contact Mona, tell her what was happening, before the whole balance of Nature was thrown off completely. Nobody wanted another Ice Age.

But then…nobody could really blame the boy.

Tooth wrapped her arms around her middle, and bowed her head, squeezing her eyes shut. It was always hard, when a child died, but _this_ …this was personal. They all _knew_ Jamie. He had _saved_ them, for Manny's sake. He was Jack's very first Believer. To lose him like this was just unspeakably cruel. And if _she_ felt this way, she couldn't imagine what Jack was going through right now. He'd been the closest to Jamie, after all. Not to mention poor little Sophie. The _look_ in Bunny's eyes when he'd told them what had happened…

A hand on her shoulder startled Tooth into looking up into Sandy's kind golden gaze. He offered her a small, sad smile, and wordlessly pressed his forehead against her own before wrapping his arms around her shoulders. Trembling, she hugged him back and buried her face in his shoulder.

"It's not _fair_ , Sandy," she whispered fiercely. Sandy just rubbed her back, and nodded.

"Tooth," North said quietly, approaching them and laying a hand on her shoulder. With a shuddering breath she drew away from Sandy and wiped her eyes, glancing up at the Cossack through her lashes.

"I know this is hard," North sighed, his thick black brows drawn together in a heavy frown that didn't suit his face. "Is hard for all of us. But we _must_ find Jack, before his blizzard gets out of hand. Can you think of _any_ other place we have not looked?"

"I…I don't know," Tooth said, miserably, but she drew in a deep lungful of air and _tried_. But she and her fairies had already looked _everywhere._ What else could they _do_...? Finally, she let out a sigh, and looked down at Baby Tooth. "Take Squad C and D. Start in Burgess, and circle outward. Search pattern alpha. That should cover the most ground the fastest…Who knows, maybe...maybe he's come back."

Baby Tooth gave her mistress a smart salute, and zipped towards the closest window - only to go tumbling beak over tail-feathers when a strong gale wind blasted it open so forcefully it struck the wall and nearly shattered. Jack Frost followed soon after, landing so hard he actually stumbled forward and skidded across the floor, eventually rolling to a stop at North's feet.

"Jack, what - " North started, but Jack was already scrambling up.

"The Piper!" he shouted urgently, his eyes wild and desperate.

"The…the Piper?" North repeated, his brows lifting up into his hairline.

"Yes!" Jack continued, his hands shaking with a half-mad, frenzied excitement. "Bunny, you said the Piper took the souls of the dead into the Underworld, right? Then all we gotta do is _find_ him, and _make_ him give Jamie back!"

"Whoa, slow down there, Frostbite," Bunny said, throwing up a paw with a somewhat alarmed look. "I…I don't think that's such a good idea, mate…"

"Bunny, we could _save_ Jamie," Jack stressed. "We can make this _right_. We can _fix_ this. Jamie doesn't have to - He doesn't - "

Belatedly, Bunny noticed the boy's hair was in even more disarray than usual, as if Jack had spent the last three days doing nothing but raking his hands through it until it looked like he'd stuck his finger in a light socket. His wild eyes were blood-shot and red-rimmed, with deep circles under them, like he'd been crying the whole time he was gone. They knew he hadn't slept, either, because Sandy hadn't been able to track him through his dreams.

He looked like a right mess.

"Jack, _no_ ," North said, stepping forward, and reaching out to take both of Jack's shoulders. "You are proposing we interfere in the laws of _Life and Death itself_. But this is something you _cannot_ do. I - I know how much Jamie meant to you, we all cared about him, but…but you must understand - "

"NO!" Jack shouted, wrenching himself out of North's grasp. " _You_ don't understand! Jamie - he's the first person who ever _saw_ me. The first to ever _believe_ in me, since I became Jack Frost! After _three hundred years_ , do you know what that _feels_ like? What that _meant_ to me?"

"Jack, of _course_ we do," Tooth said, compassion in her eyes as she fluttered forward - but Jack backed away from her, shaking his head.

"No," he said again, voice low with barely restrained anger. "No, you _really_ don't. You guys have always had Believers. You've always had people to…to _talk_ to. The only one who ever really bothered with me before all this Guardian stuff was Sandy, and the one thing he _can't_ do is talk."

The Guardians reeled back at that, as if Jack had struck them a physical blow. Bunny's ears immediately dropped in shame, while North lowered his head with a sad frown, and Tooth's hand flew to her mouth, eyes wide. Sandy's brows drew together in concern, wishing he had the voice to offer some sort of comfort.

"Jack," Tooth said, her tone imploring. "Oh, I - I'm so sorry, I didn't - I never realized…"

"It's _fine_ ," Jack growled, in a tone that clearly said it wasn't. "It's not important. What I'm saying is, for the first time I _do_ have Believers, and I am _not_ losing the first person to ever _see_ me without a fight. I have to at least _try_ , and this is the only way I know how. I can't lose him. I _can't._ "

"But, Jack," North protested helplessly. "The Piper - he is _dangerous_. More dangerous than _Pitch._ Even Man in Moon has warned us to stay away. With good reason. Death is not to be taken lightly."

"Well, Manny didn't warn _me_ ," Jack retorted doggedly, his eyes hardening with stony determination, as frigid blue ice slowly spread across the floor from his bare feet. But it wasn't the beautiful ferns of frost he usually created. It was all sharp angles and deadly crystalline shards, so cold it cracked the marble beneath, and instantly froze anything it touched. "And even if he did, _I wouldn't care_. This is _Jamie_ we're talking about. I _have_ to try. If I could just _talk_ with the Piper, make some kind of deal, then - "

"Deals with Death never end well, mate," Bunny warned quietly.

"Then it's a good thing the Piper's just an Emissary, isn't it?" Jack shot back.

"I mean it, Jack, you don't know what you're - "

"Bunny," Jack said, and the desperate pleading tone in his voice killed whatever the Pooka was about to say. "Please. I know it's not smart, but I have to do _something_ , and I don't know what else there is. _Please_. Please help me. I…I don't want to see Sophie _crying_ like that again. She needs her big brother. I couldn't _live_ with myself if I didn't…"

The memory of Sophie's tear-stained face rose up in Bunny's heart, and his jaw clenched so hard his teeth may as well have been welded shut. He nodded shortly, suddenly unable to speak past the tightness in his throat.

"Alright, alright," North soothed, drawing Jack into his arms when the boy's voice cracked and failed. Jack squeezed his eyes shut and buried his face in North's chest, trembling. The frostbite creeping across the floor melted in an instant. If a few cold tears soaked into his beard, North didn't comment on them.

"…I didn't even _feel_ it," Jack whispered, the raw pain in his voice making North's arms tighten around him. "When Jamie…When he…I should have _felt_ something. I should have _known_. _Why_ didn't I feel anything…?"

"You know that is not how it works," North murmured, gently rubbing circles down the boy's back. "It is alright. Everything will be alright. We will help you. We will find this Piper, and _make_ him give Jamie back, if that is what it takes. So, chin up, eh? Please. No more crying."

Jack sucked in several deep breaths, trying valiantly to get himself under control as he nodded and pulled away, quickly scrubbing his sleeve across his eyes. For the first time in days, his mind steadied somewhat now that he knew they were going to do something about the gaping hole in his chest, where Jamie had once been. The thought that he might never see the kid again…Jack grimaced, and buried that thought in the deepest, darkest corner of himself.

That wouldn't happen. They were going to bring Jamie back. That's all there was to it.

With that knowledge, the frozen hand gripping his heart began to loosen. Unbeknownst to the Guardians, in that moment, the citizens of Burgess blinked and went to their windows, staring out in wonder as the raging snow-storm abruptly turned into rain.

"So…does anyone know how to contact the Piper?" North asked.

The Guardians exchanged a somewhat mystified look.

"I ain't got a clue, mate," Bunny finally said, voicing out loud what they were all thinking. "It's not like a lot of people ever go _lookin_ ' for the Piper. He…always comes to _you_ , in the end."

"Then…you don't know?" Jack said, the tremulous seed of hope in his chest beginning to wither. Bunny bit his lip, feeling it, and desperately cast about for something that would keep that seed alive. His eyes landed on Sandy, who was waving frantically to get his attention. Once he had it, a golden shamrock appeared above his head. Bunny frowned while Sandy pointed eagerly at it, not understanding what the sodding Leprechaun had to do with all this, before it finally clicked and he snapped his fingers with a grin.

"Sandy, you're a bloody genius!" he said excitedly. "The Leprechaun! People have been tryin' to catch him for _years_ , wantin' to get their hands on his gold. _That's_ what we'll do, mate. We'll set a trap for the _Piper_ , one he can't resist. That way we won't _have_ to find him, he'll come straight to us!"

"Hey, that's a good idea!" Jack said, heart swelling, and Bunny couldn't help the smile that twitched at his whiskers, when he felt that tiny seed of hope begin to grow again. "But…what do we use as bait?"

"Think I might know," Bunny said, his ears falling as an old distant memory awoke in his mind. "My...my kin used to tell stories, about the Piper…and the Reaper. It's said they use crows, as a means of collectin' the souls of the dead. When they…the night my Tribe was..." he trailed off, his throat closing, unable to finish that thought. Sandy nodded sadly, and put a hand on his furry shoulder in gentle understanding.

"…I didn't see the Piper, but…I _did_ see the crows," Bunny continued, swallowing thickly. "Hundreds of 'em were flyin' through the village. Started a few hours before Pitch attacked. My Gran said it was a bad omen…I guess she was right."

Bunny rarely talked about his past, if at all. The most any of the others knew was that Bunny was the last of his kind. But he'd never spoken of _that_ night - the night Pitch wiped out his kind - not to any of them, in all the years they'd known him. The others were quiet for a long moment, feeling a bit like trespassers, but honored all the same at being given this rare glimpse into Bunny's life.

"So…you think we should, what, catch some crows and see if the Piper comes looking for them?" Tooth asked, finally breaking the heavy silence that had descended upon them like a blanket of snow.

"That's exactly what I'm thinkin'," Bunny smirked. "Let's go talk to Connie. If anyone knows about trappin' things, it's him. That sound like a plan, Snowflake?"

"Yeah," Jack said, beginning to smile for the first time in days, as the weight tying down his heart began to slowly lift.

He just hoped it would work.

 **To Be Continued…**

* * *

 **Okay, things are moving along. You guys will get to see the Piper next chapter, and Bunny in is for a surprise ;) Please let me know what you guys think of this story, I would really appreciate some feedback. Am I going too fast? Is everyone in character? Should I continue?**

 **Anyway, thanks for the read, and I'll see you next chapter!**

 **Raha**


	3. Catching Death

**.oOo.**

 **Rise of the Guardians**

 **.:The Pied Piper:.**

 **{Chapter Three: Catching Death}**

* * *

 _Things had happened so quickly, it hadn't given Jack much time to really think. But now things had settled down, and he was finally left alone with his thoughts. The party North had thrown after their defeat of Pitch Black had lasted long into the night. But eventually, Sandy and Tooth had to leave, knowing they still had a lot of work to do to repair the damage Pitch had caused. And Bunny had been eager to return to his Warren, claiming he had a lot of cleaning up to do in preparation for next year. He still looked a bit rough to Jack. The loss of this year's Easter had taken a toll on him, and maybe it was just his imagination, but it seemed like the Pooka's fur had lost a bit its silvery sheen._

 _Sitting in an over-stuffed armchair in front of North's merrily crackling fire, Jack ran his fingers along the length of the tiny golden box held in his hands, memories of his childhood flickering in his mind's eye like an old home movie. It was strange, trying to reconcile that tousled child with the person he had become, but still, there were flashes of recognition, and the ever-present curl of warmth in his chest every time he thought of his little sister._

 _He remembered her._

 _Not just from his childhood memories, but after he'd become Jack Frost. It was long ago, perhaps a month after he'd awoken in that frozen lake. The children of the village had decided to go ice-skating, and that's when he'd first spotted her. A little girl, about nine or ten years old, with long brown hair and the saddest eyes he'd ever seen. She was standing under a tree, well away from the ice, just watching the others laugh and play. She had looked so upset, and so worried, that he'd paused in front of her and crouched down, as if he might actually catch her eye._

" _What's wrong?" he'd asked. Of course, she didn't answer. She looked right through him. Just kept staring out over the frozen pond. Finally, she sighed and turned away from him, trudging back towards the village._

 _Frowning, Jack followed after her._

 _She returned to his lake the next year, around the same time. But again, she didn't join in with the other kids. Just sat down on a log, with her head in her hands, and the saddest look in her eyes. She had gotten better over the last few months. Whatever had happened to her, whatever had hurt her, seemed to have faded somewhat. Jack had kept watch over her, when he wasn't busy experimenting with his newfound powers, and he'd seen the beginnings of a smile once or twice._

 _He decided that wasn't good enough. He was determined to make her smile for real. The desire to see her laugh was almost overwhelming now, so strong it sometimes stole his breath away. Watching her now, he was struck with an idea. Sometimes the snow reacted to his emotions. He'd started a blizzard once, a few months back, when he'd gotten upset and couldn't control himself anymore._

 _What would happen, then, if he tried to make_ happy _snow…?_

 _Jack closed his eyes, settling back on his haunches as he concentrated on that singular desire to make this little girl laugh. He pulled up every happy memory he possessed, and channeled it down into his palm, forming a delicate snowflake._

 _When he opened his eyes, the girl was staring down at his hand in undisguised wonder. She might not have seen him, but she could definitely see the enormous crystal he now held. It shimmered in the sun, sparking like a diamond, almost too beautiful to touch for fear of shattering it._

 _Jack didn't hesitate to blow it directly into her face._

 _The girl startled, blinking as the snowflake crumbled apart in her eyelashes, turning into glittering blue dust. For a moment nothing happened, and Jack's heart sagged, thinking it hadn't worked. But then a small smile tugged at the corner of her lip. A giddy laugh bubbled in her throat, and she clapped her hands over her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut as the smile pulled more insistently. Finally, she couldn't hold back anymore, and burst into a fit of joyous, helpless, uncontrollable laughter._

 _Jack let out a whoop of his own, doing a black-flip in the air, laughing right along with her in gleeful triumph. The other children turned, wondering what on earth was so funny as she continued laughing, so hard tears were beginning to roll down her cheeks and she had to clutch at her sides as if to keep herself from flying apart. Jack was actually starting to worry he'd gone too far, when she suddenly bent down, scooped up a handful of snow, and hurled it with pinpoint accuracy at the first person she saw._

" _Snowball fight!" Jack hollered, as the other kids shouted with joy and quickly joined in, abandoning their skates by the edge of his pond._

 _In the years to come, he never could get her to skate._

 _But she always came back, every winter - until she'd grown old and frail - to keep watch over the other children, as if to make sure none of them fell through the ice. Even back then, even when he'd had no idea_ why _, he'd known that was important. And he always made sure none of them ever did, always keeping the ice thick and smooth all winter long._

 _Now he knew why._

 _It filled him with a bittersweet sense of happiness, to know his little sister had never abandoned him. Not once._

 _Not until the day she'd died._

 _He hadn't realized it until now…but Jamie looked almost_ exactly _like her._

 **.oOo.**

"Bunny, will you relax? Is only graveyard."

Bunnymund scoffed wordlessly at North, but made a token attempt to relax his locked muscles and stop quivering like a pathetic little kit. The graveyard wasn't even that scary. In fact, if one were to describe it, they might even say it was quaint. Peaceful, even. The graves were well-kept, surrounded by flowers and small gifts from loved ones, watched over by the stone angels standing guard along the perimeter. Trees swayed in the evening breeze, and wild flowers grew thick along the ground, while creeping ivy held the arched entrance in a loving embrace. Carefully tended rose bushes grew along the cast-iron fence, and the air was heavy with their scent.

It was a serene, picturesque scene - and a very good attempt at masking the mien of death that shrouded everything. A part of him knew it was all in his head, knew he was probably overreacting just a tad, but that didn't stop Bunny's nose from twitching at the imagined stench of rot in the air, or his ears flattening against the prospect of being so close to so many…bodies.

After all, he was the Bringer of Life.

He had no business being here, in this place reserved for nothing but the Dead.

Still, they had a job to do. So Bunny ignored the crawling shiver creeping up his spine, the image of Sophie's tear-stained face kept firmly in his mind, as he moved slowly through the graves. If it was for his favorite little ankle-biter, he could do anything.

The Leprechaun had been surprised when the Guardians had approached him with their odd request to catch the Pied Piper, and while he'd ultimately refused to have anything to do with the actual _catching_ part, he'd grudgingly detailed which traps and spells were the most effective in capturing Spirits.

As for _where_ they should look, everyone agreed that their best bet was to start with the town in the old story.

Hamelin, in Lower Saxony, Germany.

"So…do you guys think this is the place?" Tooth asked, her eyes somber as they slowly roved over the stones and marble crosses, becoming more haphazard and weather-worn the further they went. The older ones didn't even have names, or if they had, they'd long since been erased by the wind and rain. There were no neat little rows, either, with all the plots being scattered about as they were, making things difficult to maneuver without…stepping on anyone.

"Yeah, I'd say it is. Look over there," Jack said, pointing with his staff. Bunny followed his gaze, and swallowed thickly. A huge, ancient willow stood up on a hill, near the back of the graveyard, apart from everything else. Beneath it, shrouded by long swaying branches, was a single white cross. There was no name, and no date - just a simple wreath of flowers hung over the top - not because they'd been erased by the elements, but because they'd never been there in the first place.

There was a shimmer in the air around the tree, like heat rising in the distance, and Bunny recognized it for the warding spell it was. He used them himself on the Warren, but this felt…darker. Deeper. There was a faint foreboding in the air, a sleeping sort of danger that pricked his ears forward and raised the fur along his shoulder blades. Like the feeling one gets when they stand at the entrance of a dark cave, or stare into the depths of a deep hole, and wonder if anything with teeth is waiting for them in the gloom.

The grass grew long and wild in a twenty foot radius around the willow, despite the fact that everywhere else it had been trimmed to a proper length. No living person had gone near that tree in ages. Which begged the question…

Who had left those flowers?

"You _sure_ this is a good idea…?" he asked, knowing Jack wouldn't back down now, but he felt it was worth voicing one last concern before they went through with this.

"Is only way to speak with the Piper," North replied. "He never shows himself except on Halloween, and we cannot wait that long. If this is what Jack wants, I will not argue."

"I…thanks, North," Jack murmured in a quiet voice, ducking his head. Sandy laid a hand on his shoulder, and offered him a small, comforting smile. After a moment, Jack took a deep breath and nodded.

"You got the salt?" he asked. Sandy nodded, and held up a plastic bag filled with several containers of store-bought Kosher salt. "Right. So, Connie said a five star pentagram was the strongest shape to use. Remember not to close it off until the Piper's inside of it."

Sandy gave him another smile and a thumbs up, already mixing the salt in with his dream-sand, and using that to create the pattern they needed. There was a large tree-stump sitting at the bottom of the hill, and it was this he chose as a focal point, centering it in the middle of the pentagram. He was also careful to hide the design beneath the grass, so the Piper wouldn't get suspicious before the trap was sprung. Bunny moved forward then, painting ancient runes upon the ground, within the five points of the star and along the outside edges of the pentagram.

"Right, that's done," he said, sliding his brush back within his leather bracer, ears laid back as he grimly surveyed his work.

"Tooth, how's it coming on your end?" North asked.

"I…I'm not sure," Tooth replied, a distant look in her eye, as if she was listening to something only she could hear. "Those crows are proving a lot harder to catch than I - No, wait! Yes, yes, they've got one! They're bringing it now."

No sooner had she spoken, a dark shape appeared in the sky, moving in a somewhat lop-sided and drunken manner. Jack squinted, and as it got closer, he realized it was actually several of Tooth's fairies, all struggling to carry a large cage between them. Inside, a sleek black crow was cawing its head off, lunging at the bars and flapping its coal wings in clear fury. The fairies had to keep darting away, only to return and catch the cage in a different spot as the bird kept pecking at their tiny hands with a sharp, cruel beak.

North reached out to take the cage, and they dropped it into his hands with relief, glad to finally be rid of it. North scowled down at the crow as it turned to shriek at him, his mouth pulling into a deep frown.

"Never did like these things," he said, careful to keep his fingers well away from the bars as he set it down on the stump. "Nasty scavengers. I am glad they avoid the cold."

"What now?" Tooth asked.

"Now we hide," Bunny replied quietly. "And wait."

The Guardians nodded, and spread out across the graveyard, their eyes riveted on the cage and the cawing crow within. Bunny, used to hiding as he watched children hunt for his eggs, had ducked beneath a rosebush, as close as he dared to the binding circle. Mindful of the thorns, he carefully laid down, long hind legs curled beneath him and ready to spring at a moment's notice.

Sandy wasn't too far away, crouching in the shadow of a large gravestone, his mouth set in a thin line. Tooth and Jack had taken to the trees, while North had had to retreat the farthest, and was now standing within the door of an old dilapidated toolshed, one blue eye peering through the crack. Silence descended upon the graveyard, broken only by the forlorn cries of the captured crow.

They didn't have to wait long.

Suddenly, a chill that had nothing to do with the cold swept across the graveyard. Bunny stiffened, his blood freezing in his veins as he watched a dark figure slowly rise up from between the roots of the willow tree. For a brief moment he thought it was Pitch, dressed head to toe in black as it was, but then the figure turned in his direction and he felt his heart stutter.

A bone-white skull stared at him from out of the gloom.

For a moment, raw terror gripped his heart. They had made a horrific mistake, he thought wildly. This was not the Piped Piper. This was the Reaper. He was staring into the face of Death itself, and if he moved, if he so much as twitched, it would swallow him whole. Swallow him, like it had swallowed his Tribe, his family, his -

 _No,_ he thought, shaking his head firmly, as if he could somehow dislodge the faint screams echoing in his ears. _The Reaper is gone. He's been gone for over six hundred years. Get a hold of yerself._

Drawing in a deep breath, Bunny looked again, and realized with a deep wave of relief that it wasn't really a skull but merely a painted mask. A hooded black cloak obscured the rest of the figure, whom he could only assume was the Piper, perfectly blending with the night, so it appeared as if he was gliding as he moved towards the cage.

As he got closer, though, Bunny felt his heart begin to twist. There was something inherently _wrong_ with the Spirit. Something that snagged at Bunny's awareness, made his stomach twist into knots and his flesh _crawl,_ like his fur was full of fleas. He resisted the urge to scratch, hind quarters twitching as he fought to lay as still as possible.

The Piper paused just outside of the Pentagram, head cocked as if listening to the furiously cawing crow, and for a frantic moment Bunny wondered if he could actually understand it. But then, the Piper stepped forward, and the dream-sand closed behind him, sealing the Pentagram shut.

"Now!" Bunny shouted, leaping forward. Two empty black eye-sockets turned slowly towards him as the others emerged, each swiftly moving to stand at a point of the star and slam their hands down on the runes Bunny had painted. A soft golden light shot up from the lines Sandy had drawn, and glowed for a moment before slowly fading away. Almost curiously, the Piper reached out and tapped against the force-field their Pentagram had created, making it shimmer and dance.

The world held its breath, and time seemed to still, both waiting to see what would happen next.

"Well done," the Piper said after a long, silent moment. "You caught me. Now what?"

The Guardians glanced at one another, a little bewildered, before Jack took a breath and turned to glare up at the Piper.

"You're the Pied Piper of Hamelin, right?" he asked, sounding a lot bolder than he felt as that blankly smiling mask turned to look at him.

"Yes," the Piper replied tonelessly, his voice somewhat muffled and distorted.

"Four days ago," Jack continued. "A boy named Jamie Bennett…p-passed away."

"So?" the Piper said, the empty, careless tone in his voice creating a fissure of anger in Jack's heart. Jack closed his hands into fists, his eyes glinting like chips of broken ice, and his breath coming in a cloud of vapor as the temperature took a sharp dive.

"So I want you to give him back," Jack replied in a cold voice.

"No," the Piper said at once, his tone flat. "No exchanges, no refunds. I suggest you deal with it and move on."

"If you don't - " Jack started angrily, but the Piper cut him off with a sharp wave of his hand.

"If I don't, you'll…what?" he asked. "Sit there for all eternity? I know how these binding circles work, and _you_ didn't use any blood. The minute one of you steps away, I'll be free to go. Exactly how much time have you got to spare? Or didn't you think it through?"

"Pah, this was only step one of plan," North scoffed, and smiled craftily when the Piper looked at him. He withdrew a spool of black yarn from one of his pockets, and slowly began winding one end loosely around his wrist, careful to keep his hand flat against the Rune.

"You sure it's gonna work?" Jack wanted to know, keeping his eyes trained on the Piper. "It sounds like a nursery rhyme to me…"

"Trust me, Connie knows what he's talkin' about, mate," Bunny replied. "Bloke's pretty much seen every trap spell known ta man. If he says it'll work, it'll work. Just be careful not ta scuff up the Pentagram, and _he_ can't escape."

At that, the Piper merely pulled his cloak tighter about himself and cocked his head, waiting quietly.

"Ready?" North asked. At their nods, he straightened, and spoke the first line:

" _With the thread of the crimes  
of your own design  
I bind your soul  
Five times seven times."_

Finishing the seventh loop around his wrist, he handed the spool to Tooth, who dutifully began to recite.

" _I bind you from Behind  
I bind you from Before  
That you'll hurt my people  
never ever more."_

When she was done with the last loop, she gave the yarn to Sandy. As he threaded it around his wrist, his dream-sand quickly shifted into pictures above his head, translating to:

" _I bind you from the Left  
I bind you from the Right  
I bind you by Day  
And I bind you by Night."_

Bunny was next, and as he wound the yarn, he could feel the magic of their spell beginning to sing through the thread, thrumming like a heartbeat in tandem with his own.

" _I bind you from Below  
I bind you from Above  
That you may ever know  
The laws of Life and of Love."_

Jack took the yarn now, his face set and his eyes grimly determined as he made the loops.

" _I bind you with your own  
Good conscience within  
And so let this magic  
Unfold and spin…"_

Finishing the last loop, he carefully slipped the yarn off his hand and passed it back to Bunny, who did the same and passed it back to Sandy, who gave it to Tooth, who gave it to North. North bound the loops together into one thick ring, the yarn now glowing with a muted silver light.

Throughout everything, the Piper had simply waited, looking at them in turn as they each recited their parts.

"Now, we come to brass of tacks," North said, rising to his feet, and stepping forward within the point of the star. The others did the same, until they were standing a mere foot away from the Piper, just outside the edge of the inner Pentagram.

"You're going to bind your soul to me," the Piper said, his tone faintly disbelieving. "That's your big plan? All for one little boy?"

There was a brief pause as the other Guardians glanced at North. There had been a long, heated debate on who would do the actual binding. Jack had insisted he be the one to ultimately tie the ring around the Piper's neck, as he'd been the closest to Jamie, but North wouldn't hear of it. Becoming Keeper to another Spirit's soul was a hard, heavy burden - especially _this_ Spirit's soul - and he'd refused to lay it on Jack's shoulders. The only way he would take part in this, was if he did it himself. Reluctantly, the others, and Jack, had agreed.

"Yes," North replied stoically, his face hard as he glared down at the black figure. "If this is what it takes to make you return Jamie's soul, then I will do whatever is necessary."

"What about the others?"

North paused, his hands hovering in midair as he raised the ring of yarn.

"What others?" he asked, slowly.

"The other children that've died," the Piper replied, making the Guardians flinch as if they'd been struck. "What makes _this_ kid so special that you'd bind yourself to someone like _me_?"

North was silent for a long moment, but when he opened his mouth to reply, Bunny beat him to it.

"He…he saved us," Bunny said quietly, dropping his gaze and closing his eyes for a brief moment, his paws closing into fists. "When no one else believed in us, he did. We owe him a debt. And if there is way to save him, we'll do it. S'only right."

"…I see," the Piper replied, his masked face dipping into a small nod. "Then…I suppose I'm sorry for this."

"For…what?" Bunny asked.

"For **Grimm** ," the Piper answered. Bunny didn't have a chance to ask what the heck _that_ meant, because he got the answer all too soon. With a ferocious snarl, something _huge_ and _black_ leapt from the roots of the willow and lunged for him with a flash of sharp, white teeth. Bunny leapt out of the way on pure instinct, breaking the circle, and in the next instant the creature had shot past him, the Piper following close on its heels.

"Bloody hell - !" Bunny cursed, snatched the black ring from North's hands, and bolted after them. The thing that had attacked whipped around, chainsaw growls ripping from its throat, jaws snapping as he dodged around it with his heart thundering in his ears.

The Piper was weaving through the graves up ahead, and he was _fast_ , but Bunny was faster. With a powerful kick, he hit the Piper square in the back, sending them both tumbling across the grass. Panting, knowing he had only seconds, Bunny pulled the Piper's hood back and slipped the ring of yarn over his head. Magically, it expanded to fit, before abruptly shrinking down into a choker-collar, snug around the Piper's neck.

Bunny gasped as something deep within his soul _clicked._

In the next instant, something grabbed his ear and yanked him back, drawing a sharp yelp of pain from him. Then teeth filled his vision as a pair of enormous paws pressed down on his chest, and Bunny went limp with mindless terror as the biggest dog he'd ever seen in his life closed its jaws around his throat.

 **To Be Continued…**

* * *

 **CLIFFHANGER!**


	4. The Bargain

**.oOo.**

 **Rise of the Guardians**

 **.:The Pied Piper:.**

 **{Chapter Four: The Bargain}**

* * *

"That's enough."

Immediately the dog stilled, teeth holding Bunny firmly, but not hard enough to break the skin. Yet. Instead, it emitted a low, rumbling growl that sent a hard shiver through Bunny's limbs and forced a strangled whimper up his throat.

"Let him go, Grimm," the Piper sighed, getting slowly to his feet.

Almost reluctantly, the dog released him and stepped away, leaving Bunny panting and shaking in the dirt. Reaching up, he rubbed at his neck with a trembling paw, and glanced at the Piper with wide eyes. The Piper merely twitched his cloak closed, having already pulled his hood up, and stood staring down at him with those empty black eyes.

Bunny shook himself, reeling from the sudden lurch of vertigo in his belly, and quickly dropped his gaze. Slowly climbing to his haunches, he crouched there for a moment as he willed his heart to stop pounding so hard against his ribcage, his nose twitching as he sucked in a deep lungful of air. The dog moved to lean against Piper's side, and he idly rubbed it behind the ears, his other hand fingering the collar around his neck.

"Bunny!" Tooth called, flitting towards him with an alarmed expression. "Are you alright?!"

"M'fine, sheila," Bunny murmured, ears flat and nose twitching, finding it difficult to take his eyes off the Piper and that dog long enough to really assure her. MiM, the size of that dog. It looked like an Irish wolfhound, with coarse coal black fur, but it was as big as a bloody horse. It looked emaciated, too, skin pulled taut over its bones, reminding Bunny of one of Pitch's Nightmares but somehow much, much worse. White sightless eyes glowered at him from the sockets of a skeletal face, lips pulled back to reveal long canine teeth, and another low growl had Bunny fighting the instinctive urge to run.

North, Sandy and Jack arrived moments later, weapons drawn. Even when the Piper didn't attack, they remained uneasy and on edge. At once, Bunny knew the others had picked up on it, too, that sense of _wrongness._ Like there was something missing in the Piper, something important, and it scraped against their nerves like nails on a chalkboard.

It was for this reason North kept his swords out, just in case, a wary eye on the cloaked figure, as if daring him to make another move. The Piper simply stared back. Of course, with the binding collar in place, there wasn't much he could actually do.

Bunny hoped.

"If you are not hurt, Bunny, let us try this again," North said, eyes hard as he met the skull mask's empty gaze. "Pied Piper. We have come to make deal with you. We want you to return Jamie's soul."

The Piper didn't move, and didn't say a word.

Jack shifted nervously, the head of his shepherd's crook drifting almost unconsciously in the Piper's direction, but he hesitated to use his powers. Somehow, he got the feeling they wouldn't have much effect. Tooth hovered uncertainly, still angry over the attack on Bunny, but for some reason she couldn't quite grasp, she was deeply reluctant to get too close to the Piper. Sandy simply crossed his arms over his chest, and gave the Piper a stern look. He was completely ignored.

North's brows drew together in confusion. Perhaps because Bunny had become the Keeper, the Piper would only respond to him?

"Bunny?" he asked.

Bunny hesitated, but finally straightened up, rising to stand once more as he took a step closer. The Piper slowly turned to look at him, and the dog bared its teeth. He could feel the tenuous link between them, the magic he'd poured into the collar acting as a bridge, and carefully he reached out, seeking the other's aura – only to hit a blank wall.

Bunny shook his head. No, that was impossible. He ought to have been able to feel _something_ , no one could be so…horrifically empty. Again, he reached out, and again, he found nothing. Like the Piper simply didn't exist at all. He was standing right in front of the Pooka, and Bunny could sense _nothing._

"I…I don't understand," he stammered. "I can't…"

Sandy frowned for a moment, his round face scrunched up into a thoughtful expression, before a light bulb suddenly appeared over his head, followed quickly by the image of the Piper's mask.

"Remove your mask," North ordered, nodding in agreement. Other than the slightest inclination of his head in North's direction, the Piper didn't obey. North scowled, then rolled his eyes and reached up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Bunny, you are Keeper," he sighed. "Perhaps he will listen to you. The mask must act as a barrier of some sort. Make him remove it. Then we talk openly."

"Do you often assault and disrobe other Spirits, or am I special?" the Piper asked, directing the question at Bunny. The question was caustic and barbed, but the Piper's flat tone betrayed no emotion whatsoever.

"Death's subordinates are known tricksters," North retorted, a heavy scowl marring his features. "We are simply ensuring you cannot lie to us, or fool us. Cooperate, and you will be free to go when this is over."

"'Sides, I ain't got much sympathy for someone whose sole purpose is to kill everything it touches," Bunny added darkly, for a moment remembering the hundreds of screaming crows swooping in the night while his Tribe was ripped apart. He suppressed a shudder, and quickly buried those thoughts before he could recall anything else.

Still, he hesitated before giving the command. He had to remind himself this was for Jamie. It wasn't like they were going to hurt the Spirit. They just wanted to make sure the boy was well, to see him again. They'd all given so much to the world. Was it too much to ask that it give something back…?

He ignored the sharp twist in his gut that kept insisting this was wrong. They were messing with things they really, really shouldn't.

"Take off the mask," Bunny ordered.

"Is this part of the deal you wish to make?" the Piper asked, cocking his head. Bunny hesitated, and glanced at the others, who nodded slowly. When Connie had given them the spell, he'd made it very clear that the more they asked of the Piper, the more the Piper could ask in return. He'd also warned them to be very, very careful, and not take any chances.

Besides, compared to what they _really_ wanted, the mask was nothing.

"We're just makin' sure ya can't lie to us," Bunny retorted. "Take it off."

He could feel the Piper resisting him, fighting the compelling pull of the collar around his neck, and he was _strong_ \- breathtakingly so - but the binding spell was stronger. Eventually his hands lifted with slow, jerky movements. He plucked the mask off his face and lowered his hood.

Bunny felt all the air whoosh out of his lungs as if he'd been punched in the stomach.

"Yer…yer a girl!" he said stupidly, barely registering the shocked intake of breath from the other Guardians. The Piper afforded him a cold flat glare, but otherwise simply nodded, as if this revelation was unimportant and unworthy of the gob-smacked look on his face.

And maybe it wouldn't have come as such a surprise…if she wasn't so stunningly beautiful.

In dark, gothic sort of way.

Her raven black hair was tied into two thick braids that tumbled over her shoulders, framing a soft face and ethereal features. Her lips were stained black, making them stand out against the deathly paleness of her skin. A thick lock of hair covered her right eye, but the other was ringed in dark circles and like a smooth black mirror, so that he could see himself reflected in its surface…

But beyond that, behind the furry face staring back at him, there was…nothing. Just a terrible, empty void, like she hadn't removed the mask at all - and at the same time it so much worse. Meeting that gaze was like staring into the bottomless pit of a black hole. Cold and dead and endless, pulling him down, down, down into a vast, crushing nothingness that went on forever…

Bunny sucked in a sharp breath and tore his eyes away, his heart thudding heavily in his chest and his stomach turned to lead. Then, he blinked and looked around. They were no longer in the graveyard. Instead, he and the other Guardians were standing on the edge of a cliff. Behind them, the grassy knolls of the Warren stretched out, dotted with wildflowers and several of his precious Easter eggs, watched over by his moss-covered stone sentinels.

But they weren't the only things he saw. Dozens of North's flying contraptions swooped overhead, joined by a handful of Sandy's golden manta rays, and twenty or so of Tooth's little fairies, all frolicking with a few of Jack's playful snow flurries. They weren't underground, either. Instead, the night sky stretched out above them, filled with so many stars it was almost as bright as day.

There was no Moon in sight.

The Piper stood a few feet away, and behind her the world dropped off into a gaping black abyss with no visible bottom and no horizon. The vague outline of a shape rose up out of the blackened fog here and there, but what they were supposed to be was so obscured it was impossible to tell. That feeling of wrongness only grew worse, snagging on Bunny's consciousness like a rusted nail, and even though he was nowhere near the edge of the sheer drop off his stomach still pitched with vertigo.

"I thought we could use a change of venue, if you're going to insist on this little chat," the Piper said conversationally, summoning a surprisingly cute round table and a handful of chairs, all painted white, with a tea set already prepared.

Then she pushed her cloak back over her shoulders, and Bunny blinked at the rest of her attire. Somehow, he'd expected her to be wearing all black, like Pitch, but there was a surprising amount of white in her clothes, as well. Well, the word pied meant multi-colored or two-toned, so perhaps it wasn't so surprising.

The inner lining of her coal-black cloak was snow-white, held in place around her slender shoulders by an ornate white-silver clasp. Beneath that, she wore a long-sleeved white dress shirt with a high collar, and starched cuffs that brushed part her knuckles. Black gloves covered her delicate hands, a pair of filigreed black bracers were clasped to her slender wrists, and a black ribbon was tied in a bow around her neck, pinned in place with a white skull brooch. A black double-breasted vest with white pinstripes hugged her torso, with large white buttons. A black pinstriped skirt brushed her knees, with a ruffled white petticoat beneath it. A pair of white-silver plates covered her knees, held in place with bone white straps, over black leggings. Her shining black jackboots were covered in white velvet spats, black buttons marching up the outer seam up her shapely calves.

"Where are we?" Jack asked, glancing around curiously.

"The Astral Plane," the Piper replied, adding two lumps of sugar to her cup. "Standing on the edge of Limbo, outside of reality, just within the scope of dreams. The place where our minds have connected through the binding spell. Tea?"

"Er…yeah," Bunny murmured, at a loss for what else he should say. It wasn't until he took a step closer that he realized the cute little table and chairs had been fashioned out of human bones, and the Piper was watching him with a mildly curious eye, clearly waiting to see what he would do.

Taking a steadying breath, he firmly reminded himself none of this was real and she was just trying to wind them up, before he forced himself to have a seat, ignoring the uneasy shudder that ran up his spine. The others joined him after a moment, gingerly perching on the edge of their seats as if they expected the chairs would bite them the moment they sat down.

"I take it none of you have ever performed a binding before?" the Piper asked, pouring them all a cup with sure, deft movements. When they went to take a sip, however, they found the tea was stone cold. Bunny could have sworn it was piping hot a second ago. With a small snort, he glared at the Piper, and wasn't surprised to see that tendrils of steam delicately swirled above her own cup. She looked back at him with blank innocence.

"No," he said shortly, before slamming back his tea in one gulp and setting the empty cup down with a firm clink. He arched a challenging brow at her, daring her to say something about it. She simply arched a brow back, her expression inscrutable, and just continued to stare fixedly at him, silent.

Pitch ought to take lessons from her, he thought. She was making his skin crawl in a way the Nightmare King had never managed to accomplish.

"Would you like a refill?" she asked, her voice almost mockingly sweet, if it were not for the fact it was utterly toneless. As if, even without the mask, she was only capable of _imitating_ emotion, not outright expressing it. Or feeling it. He still couldn't bring himself to meet her gaze, staring instead at the tiny scar across the bridge of her nose - which did very little to mar her ethereal beauty - and wondered why on earth she wore an emotional inhibitor if she had nothing to inhibit.

Perhaps she'd simply worn the mask for so long, she'd forgotten her own heart.

Perhaps she'd never had one in the first place.

"No thanks," Bunny replied flatly, while the other Guardians slowly set their cups down.

Well, North, Tooth and Sandy did. Jack just tossed his over his shoulder, teacup and all. It shattered with a satisfying tinkling sound, but the Piper hardly paid it any attention. In fact, she summoned a new cup in front of him with a careless wave of her hand, not even bothering to glance in his direction. Jack scowled, and crossed his arms over his chest, slumping back in his chair and looking like such a petulant teenager Bunny had to suppress a sigh.

"And maybe I've never been a Keeper," he went on doggedly. "But I know how it works well enough. Any deals we make can't be broken. Yer compelled to answer any questions I ask. Ya can't tell me any lies."

"Nor do I have to volunteer any information," the Piper added, nodding. "So I suppose you had better ask the right questions - because each one will add to your debt. Are you prepared to make payment, once you have what you seek?"

Bunny glanced at the other Guardians, and they nodded firmly.

"Then ask what you will of me," the Piper conceded.

Bunny sat back in his chair for a moment, brows drawn together in a thoughtful frown as he regarded her. Something about all this nagged at him, scratching at the back of his mind like a dog whining to be let in, but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"Can you give back Jamie's soul?" Bunny asked slowly, half-expecting the answer to be no. It couldn't really be that easy. The Piper paused, regarding him almost thoughtfully over the brim of her cup.

The Guardians held their breath.

"I can," the Piper said quietly, after a long silent moment.

Bunny exhaled slowly, and felt the iron band that had closed around his heart four days ago begin to loosen. Jack all but collapsed in his chair, clutching his staff so hard his knuckles were turning whiter than usual. North let out a small, choked sound caught somewhere between a laugh and a sob. A small, hopeful smile pulled at Tooth's mouth. Sandy clapped his hands, and silently whooped.

But Bunny wasn't satisfied.

"… _Will_ you?" he pressed.

"Yes," the Piper nodded. "Are you sure that is what you want? The price for a soul is a steep one."

"We'll pay it," Jack said, without hesitation, fierce determination in his eyes. "Whatever it is, we'll pay it."

"Hold on," Bunny cut in, shaking his head, and fixed the Piper with a hard look. "Is that price the life of another? 'Cause if it's killin' someone, then I'm sorry, Frostbite, but the answer's no."

Jack gaped at Bunny for a horrified moment, opening and closing his mouth several times like a beached fish, and was suddenly, deeply, overwhelmingly relieved Bunny was the one in charge right now. If _that's_ what the Piper wanted…and he'd almost _agreed_ to it…

"No," Jack said in a small voice. "No, you're right…"

"You don't have to worry," the Piper said. "I will not ask you to take the life of another in exchange. As you say, killing is _my_ job, and I certainly don't need your help."

"Then is it one'a _our_ souls?" Bunny asked, his uneasiness increasing. He _knew_ there was a catch, he just had to find it.

"I don't want any soul in return," the Piper said. "What I want in is quite simple, really…"

"Out with it, then," North said, crossing his arms. "What is it?"

The Piper leaned forward to rest her chin in her hands, and looked up at North with an empty smile, her features arranged into the façade of false innocence.

"You'll have to wait and see," she said, her tone almost, almost sing-song. "Once my side of the bargain is fulfilled, I will tell you yours."

The Guardians exchanged an uneasy look, but eventually nodded in agreement. If the Piper didn't expect another soul in exchange, then they would do anything, if it meant they could save Jamie.

"Give us Jamie, and we'll do whatever ya want," Bunny said.

"Very well," the Piper replied.

Turning to the yawning abyss at her back, she held out her hand and emitted a long, low whistle. Something shifted in the gloom, before an inky black shadow dislodged itself from the rest. It coalesced into the form a crow, and landed with an ungainly squawk on her fingers. Pumping its head a few times, it opened its beak…and blew a bubble.

Bunny blinked.

Alright, he hadn't been expecting that.

Resisting the urge to rub his eyes, Bunny took a harder look. And yes, he'd been right. It was a large iridescent soap bubble, about the size of a child's fist, but with a soft golden light in the center. It pulsed steadily, like a tiny heartbeat, and the surface shimmered with rainbows. It looked so delicate he was half afraid it was going to pop at any second.

Still, something in him itched to reach out and touch it, but he didn't dare, mindful of his blunt claws. The last thing he wanted to do was damage that beautiful little thing.

…Not even his best googies could hope to match it.

"Oh," Tooth said softly, staring wide-eyed at the little bubble. With a start, Bunny realized she was looking at it in the same way she fawned over her precious teeth. Glancing at North, he saw the same expression the big man wore whenever he'd finished a particularly wondrous toy. Sandy, too, looked just as he did whenever he brought an especially good dream to someone. And Jack…Jack was practically hugging his staff, his eyes wide and frightened and so vulnerable. Then he drew in a sharp, painful breath, and Bunny was shocked to see tears in the boy's eyes.

"Is…" Jack choked out, but had to stop to swallow past the hard lump in his throat before trying again. "Is that…?"

He couldn't finish the question, he was too upset, but somehow the Piper knew what he was asking anyway.

"Yes," she said quietly. "This is Jamie's soul."

And with that, she dropped the bubble into Bunny's paw. He startled, instinctively cupping it to keep it from blowing away, while at the same time terrified of crushing the fragile thing. It floated serenely a few inches above his palms, casting a soft warmth straight into his heart, and Bunny had to fight the sudden urge to cry.

It was almost, almost like the first time he'd held Sophie in his arms.

Only...

"There you go," the Piper said, her voice breaking over him like a bucket of ice water. "You have Jamie's soul back."

Bunny's eyes shot up in stunned bewilderment, too shocked to speak.

"Of course, without a physical body, souls are nothing more than energy," she continued carelessly, regarding the tiny thing in Bunny's paw without the slightest hint of love, or wonder, or joy. Something deep inside him _twisted_ at that, for reasons Bunny wasn't even sure of.

"N-no…" Jack choked, and for a moment Bunny could _feel_ all the sharp pieces of the boy's heart tearing into his skin as it began to shatter. "No…On Halloween, there…there were ghosts, I _saw_ them. Why – why isn't he – I thought – "

"It's the memories of their loved ones that give them form, coupled with the belief that they will return on All Hallow's Eve," the Piper explained, watching as Jack's face slowly crumpled. "But for the rest of the time, they sleep, and dream of whatever sort of afterlife they believed in when they were alive."

North's wonder-filled smile fell, his shoulders slumping as it finally dawned on him what the Piper was trying to tell them.

"So…so even if you gave back Jamie's soul…" he said, having to force the words out because he did not want to hear the answer.

"You would not be able to interact him," the Piper nodded, confirming what they'd already known. "You would not be able to touch him. He would be completely unaware of you. And if you take him out of Limbo, he will perish."

"L-Limbo…?" Tooth stammered.

"The Underworld. The Afterlife. Whatever you wish to call it," the Piper clarified. "It is a safe haven. The souls are protected there. However, as you can see, they are easily damaged without a vessel to inhabit. Easily destroyed. Of course, if you're still set on it, I can't stop you…"

The Piper's eyes were cold and knowing, and Bunny drew in a sharp breath, fighting the urge to clench his paws into fists - he was still holding the soul, _Jamie's soul_ , and even now he could feel it fluttering against him like a tiny bird - as frigid rage dripped into his heart like thick molasses.

"…You tricked us," he said in a low, furious hiss. "You knew we couldn't take him. You knew we _wouldn't._ "

The Piper's eyes were heartless and unmoved.

"I guess you didn't ask the right questions, after all," she said flatly. "And now you owe me a debt."

"We don't owe you _anything_!" Jack snapped, frost spreading out from his fingertips when he slammed his fist against the table. The little soul in Bunny's paws trembled, and he curled protectively around it. "If we can't take him back with us - "

"That was never part of the deal," the Piper cut him off. "You wanted his soul back. I gave it back to you. You never specified for _how long_."

"You knew this would happen from the beginning," Bunny realized. "You knew we'd set the trap, and you walked into it _on purpose_."

In answer, the Piper merely held out her hand, and Bunny could think of no other alternative but to give the soul - _Jamie_ \- back to her. He didn't realize just how _hard_ that would be when he tried, his ears pressing flat against his back, his heart wrenching with a sharp pain, as if he was handing over a piece of _himself_ …

"No!" Jack cried, jumping to his feet. "It's not fair!"

"It's perfectly fair," the Piper replied stonily, taking back Jamie's soul. "I upheld my part of the bargain. I gave back the boy's soul. It's not my fault you can't keep it."

Jack snarled, and pointed the crook of his staff directly at the Piper's face.

She simply sat there, and waited patiently. Because she was still holding _Jamie_ , and they both knew he wouldn't dare. After a long, tense moment, Jack finally blew out his breath and turned away in defeat.

The Piper held out Jamie's soul, and the Guardians watched with pained looks as the crow now perched upon her shoulder swallowed it whole and took off, disappearing into the inky blackness once more.

Jack let out a short keening cry, biting it off quickly. He sucked in several hard breaths, pressing his forehead against his staff, and squeezing his eyes shut. Tooth instantly moved to wrap her arms around his shoulders, murmuring quietly while Jack shook and struggled not to cry. Jack had always acted so aloof, so carefree, it was a shock to see him like this. Even in the rare moments he'd opened up to them about how he'd become a Spirit - how he'd died - he'd _never_ broken down.

Bunny closed his eyes, unable to meet the Piper's cold, unrelenting gaze any longer.

They had known it was a long shot. But even then, they'd still been able to hold onto the hope that somehow, _somehow_ they could set this right. And now… he could feel his own hope dying in his chest.

"Now," the Piper said. "Let's talk about _your_ end, shall we…?"

* * *

 **To Be Continued…**

 **IMPORTANT NOTE REGARDING EDITS:**

 **I've extended the timeline a little, so this story is now taking place a year after the movie, and a few months after Easter. I wanted to get in some flashbacks with Jamie, just so I could make this whole thing extra super sad, so yeah. Look forward to that. Also added in a bit of extra dialogue in chapter one, so if you want you can go back and read that, but it's not really necessary. Just remember, it's a year after, not three months.**

 **Also, I forgot to mention last chapter, but the binding spell was actually something I found online, it's not mine. It's from everythingunderthemoon dot net, or at least the words are, I changed the rest of it up a little bit. I'd also like to say, this story will predominantly be set in the movie-verse as I haven't read the books yet, but I may dip into the book-verse now and again. I guess consider this an AU, as I plan to completely butcher everyone's back-stories quite a lot. Hopefully it's nothing you guys can't take :)**

 **Anyway, lemme know how I'm doing, and thanks for coming this far! I'd love to hear from ya'll, and I really appreciate all the attention this silly little idea of mine is getting!**

 **Raha**


	5. The Debt

**.oOo.**

 **Rise of the Guardians**

 **.:The Pied Piper:.**

 **{Chapter Five: The Debt}**

* * *

 _"Hey, Jack?" Jamie said one day, while walking home from school. Sophie was trailing along behind him, giggling and jumping in leaf piles. It was almost mid-October now, and the trees were turning all sorts of dazzling colors. Jack breathed in the crisp air, scenting pine needles and the sharp bite of early snows, and smiled widely._

 _He loved this time of year._ _Burgess was located in just the right place, where he could keep the temperature cool all year 'round without ticking off the seasonal Sprites too much, but at the same time it never got so cold that nothing could ever live there. Even better, it meant he could keep his pond frozen solid all year long without too much trouble, which was important. Before he'd gotten his memories back, he'd never really understood_ why _it was so important...but he knew now._

 _"Jack? Hello?"_

 _"Hm? Yeah, what is it?" Jack started, smiling down at Jamie's questioning face. "Sorry, zoned out there for a sec. What's up, kiddo?"_

 _"Can I ask you something?" Jamie said, cocking his head slightly with a pensive look._

 _"Sure, go ahead, ask me anything," Jack grinned._

 _"Okay," Jamie nodded. "Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but...what_ are _you, exactly?"_

 _"Whaddaya mean, what am I?" Jack laughed. "I'm a person! Same as you!"_

 _"You know what I mean!" Jamie huffed, rolling his eyes. "I mean...how'd you get all those awesome ice powers? How'd you become Jack Frost? Or...were you always like this?"_

 _"Well, no, not always," Jack replied honestly, considering how much to tell the boy. He had the feeling Jamie wouldn't like hearing that his friend had died in the very same pond he went skating on. "I was human once, like you. But then...something happened, and I was transformed into a Spirit by the Man in the Moon."_

 _"What happened?" Jamie asked curiously._

 _"I saved my little sister," Jack replied, his chest swelling with pride. "She was going to fall through the ice in our pond, and I got her to safety. That's why the Moon chose me, and it's why I became a Guardian."_

 _"So, when you say you became a Spirit... You're not - you're not saying that you died, are you...?" Jamie asked haltingly, looking up at Jack with wide brown eyes. Jack chuckled, and ruffled his hair._

 _"To tell you the truth, I don't actually remember dying," Jack shrugged easily. "And that's not exactly something you just up and forget, so I don't think you gotta worry."_

 _"Oh," Jamie said, with a sigh of relief. "That's good, then."_

 _It was funny, Jack mused later. He clearly recalled falling through the ice, and he knew he_ must _have died, despite what he'd told Jamie, but... he hadn't been lying, either. He honestly never could remember the actual dying bit. He'd felt the shocking cold of the freezing water, and then in the next instant...nothing. Just the darkness, and he'd been frightened for some reason, but at the time he hadn't known why. And then he was blinking up at the Moon, and the fear was all but forgotten._

 _In the aftermath of discovering he'd had a family and a sister, and remembering how he'd saved her, and the final battle with Pitch, the little fact that he'd died somehow got left by the wayside. Just an insignificant detail, really, in the face of bigger and more important things. But afterwards, when everyone settled down, and Jack had a moment to himself to think...he couldn't help but wonder about it. It was like someone had simply cut that particular memory right out of his head, and while he was happy to have regained a sense of who he was, a part of him was more than a little glad he couldn't actually recall his death._

 _Course, in the end, he decided it didn't really matter. He didn't regret it, and he was still here, after all. Nothing had really changed._

 _Except...there were times, late at night, when Jack would stare up at the night sky and think about her. His little sister. Miss her._

 _And yet, he still couldn't even remember her name._

 _It was those times he would go back to Burgess and check in on a sleeping Jamie. Maybe ruffle his hair, or tuck the covers in around him, and for a little while not feel quite so alone._

 _"So, then, what_ are _Spirits?" Jamie asked. "Are they like ghosts? Are ghosts real?"_

 _"Yes, ghosts are real, and no, they're not the same as Spirits," Jack explained. "Ghosts are like...echoes. Like a memory, or a snapshot of a person. They're not the person's actual soul, not really, just...the imprint of one. When people die, they release a lot of energy, and that energy gets absorbed into the world around them. Sometimes it lingers. But it's not actually them. Trust me, I've been in more than my fair share of haunted houses to know. Except on Halloween. That's the only time I know of that ghosts can actually come back from...wherever it is people go when they die."_

 _"Wow," Jamie breathed, his eyes shining with giddy excitement. "Okay then, so what are Spirits? How are they different?"_

 _"Spirits are a bit more complicated," Jack replied. "There's only one being I know of that can create them, and that's the Man in the Moon. He...does something to people's souls. Makes them immortal somehow, like he...freezes them in time, or something. Sandy tried to explain it to me once, but I can't understand half of what he says on a good day, so I didn't really get it. There's also Sprites, but those are totally different. Mother Nature forms them out of the elements, or something. Think the fairies from Fantasia. They help her with nature stuff, like changing the seasons and things."_

 _"How does the Moon know who to choose?"_

 _"No idea," Jack shrugged. "He just knows. Maybe he reads people's minds, or something."_

 _"If you were chosen by the Moon, then how come you guys don't all have moon powers, or something?" Jamie wanted to know._

 _"Moon powers?" Jack snorted. "What would moon powers even be like?"_

 _"I_ mean _, how come you all have different abilities?" Jamie reiterated, giving him an exasperated look._

 _"Oh, that's easy," Jack said. "Our magic reflects who we are on the inside. Take Bunny, he's Australian, so he's got those boomerang things, and he can run and dig and stuff since, y'anno, he's also a huge flippin' kangaroo and all. Still dunno what the eggs are all about, but whatever floats his boat. Now me, I'm clearly the coolest of the bunch, so I've got these amazing ice powers and the Wind to help me fly around and deliver snow-days to all the boys and girls."_

 _"So, basically, you use...soul power?" Jamie snickered with a teasing, lop-sided grin. Jack formed a snowball in his hand, and stuffed it down Jamie's hoodie._

 _"Hey, no fair!" the boy shrieked, laughing as he danced around trying to shake the snow out. Jack immediately cracked up at the sight, and ended up holding his ribs, he was laughing so hard._

 _"Well, that's what you get for mocking the new awesome, super cool, chocolate-y fudge coated, super Guardian," Jack sniffed once he'd gotten himself under control again, and stuck his tongue out for extra measure. Jamie snorted and rolled his eyes good-naturedly._

 _"I knew introducing you to Yugioh Abridged was a bad idea."_

 **.oOo.**

It wasn't fair.

Jack clenched his fists, teeth grinding as he scowled at the raven-haired Death Spirit, hardly able to contain the frigid ice-slick slowly cracking the ground beneath his feet. She had tricked them. For one fleeting, wonderful moment he'd thought...

No.

He didn't care WHAT the Piper had to say about it. There had to be a way to save Jamie. There had to be. He couldn't stand the jagged hole left in his heart where Jamie had been, couldn't stand the thought of never seeing him again, of never hearing him laugh. And Sophie was counting on him to try everything he could to bring her brother back. He _had_ to _try_.

He just needed to ask the right questions.

"Wait," he said, just as Bunny's ears fell in defeat. He'd meant to sound stronger, but his voice came out weak and desperate, instead.

Jack swallowed as the other Guardians looked at him with pitying, compassionate eyes. Something in his chest twisted hard, and he avoided their gazes, instead focusing on the Piper's coldly indifferent regard.

"There has to be some way," he went on, leaning towards her intently. "There's got to be something you aren't telling us. What if - We could - Isn't there ANY way to bring him back?"

The Piper remained silent, watching him calmly over the edge of her teacup, waiting. He turned to Bunny for help, who sighed heavily and repeated the question.

"The only way a mortal soul can remain in the Land of the Living is if they are transformed into a Spirit," she replied quietly. "And the only one with the power to do that is - "

"The Man in the Moon!" Jack cried, sitting up like he'd been struck with a bolt of lightning. "Why didn't we think of that?! All we have to do is go to him, and ask if he can - "

"Jack..." Tooth murmured sadly, reaching out to out a hand on his arm. "Sweet-tooth, it doesn't work like that..."

"Like hell it doesn't!" Jack snarled, ripping away from her, and ignoring the look of shocked hurt in her amethyst eyes. "If that's the only way to _fix_ this, then I don't care what anyone says! I'll go to MiM and I'll _MAKE_ him bring Jamie back, if that's what it takes! After leaving me on my own for _three hundred years_ , I think the bastard owes me that much!"

"Jack!" Tooth cried, hands flying up to cover her mouth, but Jack didn't care. He was breathing hard, heart thumping wildly in his chest, glaring furiously at the Piper as if daring her to argue.

She merely set her cup down and have him a flat, supremely unimpressed look.

"Jack," North said gently, reaching for the boy, but he jerked away with a sharp shake of his head. North let out a sad, quiet sigh, his sapphire gaze filled with kindness and understanding. "I know how you feel. We all do. We've all lost loved ones. Believe me, I would do anything to see my beloved wife again. But Man in Moon... He cannot make just anyone into Spirit. If he has not already with Jamie, he will not do so now, and there is nothing we can do to change that. You must understand this. He is bound by Fate, as we all are."

The Piper's dark gaze cut towards North, but her expression remained as impassive as ever.

Jack lifted his head and gave North a pained look, fighting back the tears freezing on his lashes.

"I... I didn't know you were married," he said in a quietly choked voice.

North patted him on the back, his forlorn eyes saddened and faraway. Sandy reached out and put a comforting hand on the big man's shoulder.

"Was long time ago," he murmured, giving the Sandman a grateful nod. "In another life. I do not dwell on it. And neither should you. I know this hurts now, but will get better. I promise you."

Jack just shook his head, and ran both hands through his flyaway hair, pulling hard. Resting his elbows in the tabletop, he stared down into his cold cup of tea, and felt the iron band squeezing his heart tighten just a bit more.

"Are you ready now to discuss your end of our deal?" the Piper choose that moment to ask, voice devoid of compassion, and it was all Jack could do not to freeze her into a solid block of ice. By the looks on their faces, the other Guardians were thinking along the same lines.

"Go on then," Bunny growled lowly, green eyes going as he fixed the girl with a hard glare. "Let's get this bloody farce over with. Wot do ya want?"

"It shouldn't take up too much of your time," she assured him evenly. "I merely need you to find something for me."

"And what's that?" Bunny asked in a venomous tone, his ears cocking in curiosity despite himself.

"Pitch Black," the Piper replied simply.

She lifted a delicate brow when every single Guardian jumped to their feet with an outraged cry, knocking over chairs and upsetting her good china.

"Pitch...!" North bellowed, wishing he'd brought his swords.

"Wot the bloody hell do ya want with that drongo?!" Bunny demanded.

A flurry of images snapped and hissed over Sandy's head, depicting several choice phrases that were probably best left unspoken.

"We got rid of him!" Tooth hissed angrily. "He hasn't shown his face since the last time we defeated him, and I say good riddance!"

"Yes, I believe that's exactly the problem," the Piper said, folding her hands nearly on the table in front of her. "Over the last year, I have noticed a growing increase of accidental deaths among children. In fact, Jamie Bennett himself was killed in a hit and run when his sled got out of his control and went under the wheels off a passing truck. I believe these deaths are partially related, in part, to the disappearance of Pitch Black."

Jack felt like someone had just punched him in the stomach. He sat staring numbly at the Piper for a moment, breathless and trembling.

A hit and run.

Someone had... Someone had run Jamie down in the street, and then just... just left him there. The image of Jamie's broken little body lying motionless on the asphalt would haunt him for the rest of his life. And the thought that other children had suffered a similar fate... Jack buried his face in his hands, his gut lurching. The other Guardians were struck speechless, minds whirling as they considered the implications of what the Piper was telling them.

"What... What are you saying?" North said haltingly, his thick black brows drawing together into an impressive frown.

The Piper gave him a withering glance.

"Surely, you didn't think Pitch was chosen to spread fear simply for the fun of it?" she asked. "Like all Spirits, he has an important job to do. Fear is essential in keeping mortals safe from harm. Without it, they take unnecessary risks and put themselves in danger, often with deadly results. Especially children, who don't know any better. Children like little Jamie Bennett. Pitch's Nightmares provided a safe environment for the young to learn about fear, and how to handle it in a dangerous situation, without the risk of physical harm. Without him... Well. You've seen for yourself the consequences of that. Mark my words, more children will die unless Pitch returns."

The Guardians exchanged stunned looks of bewildered disbelief. Children were _dying_...because they'd gotten rid of Pitch Black? The very thought seemed ridiculous, and yet... the more they thought about it, the more it made a terrible sort of sense. One that sat heavily in their hearts and filled their insides with leaden guilt.

"Oh, MiM," Tooth breathed, her eyes wide with dawning horror. "It's... It's our fault. All those kids... Jamie... Would - would they still be alive if we hadn't...?"

"We could not have known," North said desperately, shaking his head in frantic denial. "How could we have known? Pitch doesn't sow fear to keep children safe, he does it to gain power for himself, we all know this!"

"And it ain't like we killed the soddin' git," Bunny growled harshly, ears laid back flat against his head and his paws clenching into fists.

"We didn't exactly try to help him, either," Jack muttered, a shiver running down his spine at the memory of Pitch dragged screaming into the Earth by his own Nightmares.

Sandy sat back in his chair, the warm light in his golden eyes slowly fading as he stared unseeingly out across the black abyss yawning beyond the horizon, and wondered how many had already fallen into that gaping, endless hole.

"We had no choice!" North cried, slamming his hand down on the table. "Pitch would have destroyed us, and drowned the world in Nightmares! We had to stop him!"

"And now you need to find him again," the Piper interjected calmly, without the slightest hint of interest in what had happened. She sounded almost bored. "Whatever you did, it seems to have sealed him off from the world completely. Usually I can find anyone, to matter where they hide or how far they run, but with Pitch... It's almost as if he's fallen right off the face of the Earth. Not even the crows have seen him, and they see everything."

The Guardians shared a pained look. None of them wanted anything to do with the Nightmare King ever again, that much was certain, but if his absence was really endangering the children... Finally, North huffed out a heavy sigh, and nodded solemnly.

"...Is only right," said in a subdued, grudging tone. "Is our fault he is gone. If children are in danger because of this, then we must bring him back."

Tooth and Sandy nodded wordlessly, displeased at the notion of tracking Pitch down, but they saw the necessity of it. Jack scowled down at the ground, clutching his staff in white-knuckled hands, but he didn't argue. Bunny grunted in agreement, ran shaky paws down the length of his ears, and faced the Piper with a determined grimace.

"Alright," he said. "If the drongo's really that bloody important, we'll get him back. I can't believe I'm even sayin' this, but...crikey, it makes sense. If it's for the kids, if it'll help keep 'em safe, we'll do it. We'll find Pitch Black."

He narrowed his eyes on Piper, and the black collar around her neck, swallowing thickly.

"Ain't like we got much of a choice, anyway..."

"And...debt will be repaid, once we have?" North asked, crossing his arms with a sour look in his sapphire eyes. He didn't like getting played, and the Piper was basically manipulating them into doing her dirty work for what amounted to absolutely nothing in return. She regarded him silently for a moment, and he briefly wondered if she could read minds, because it seemed like she was staring right down into his soul.

And then she smiled.

It was not a warm, happy smile. It was false and mocking and did not reach her cold, empty gaze. A meaningless, robotic imitation that made his skin crawl with gooseflesh.

"In full," the Piper replied coolly. "If you run into a problem, simply call my name, and I'll come. Good luck, Guardians."

Then she snapped her fingers, and Bunny awoke with a choked gasp.

It took him a moment to figure out what happened. He was lying flat on his back in the grass, cold and wet with early morning dew. Shivering, he sat up and looked around. They were back in the graveyard, the sky a dull pinkish gray as the sun began to rise beneath the east horizon. The other Guardians were stirring beside him with muffled groans, still in their places around the Pentagram they'd drawn.

The binding collar they'd woven was sitting snugly around his neck - a physical reminder of the debt he now owed. Even as he reached up to tug at the strands, he knew it wouldn't come off until that debt had been repaid. Until they'd found Pitch Black.

As for the Piper, she was nowhere to be seen.

 **.oOo.**

"Well, then," the Piper said, sipping her tea and idly watching as the bright colors of the Guardians' mindscapes slowly faded into the dull gray mist. "That didn't take nearly as much prodding as I thought it would. Well done. I must say I underestimated your powers of influence, but you performed your duties masterfully. As agreed, your end of our deal is fulfilled."

Cupid shuffled awkwardly and rubbed his arm, eyes downcast and an uncomfortable frown marring his chubby face.

"...You're using them," he said accusingly, but was unable to meet her steady gaze.

"I'm merely taking advantage of an opportunity," the Piper waved him off.

"Yes, the death of a kid!" Cupid snapped, his temper flaring, but quickly withered again under her unrelenting gaze.

"I want Pitch found," the Piper shrugged, unfazed. "And if anyone can do that, it's the Guardians of Childhood. They're old enemies, after all. Who better to track down the King of Nightmares?"

"...You didn't have to jerk 'em around like that," Cupid said plaintively. "Poor Jack…I've never seen him so upset. Dangling the kid's soul in front of them like that, when you _knew_ they couldn't take him back…that's not cool."

"Are you upset that I tricked them, or that you fell for the same thing?" the Piper asked evenly, eyeing him with something like mild curiosity.

Cupid's shoulders slumped, and he let out a quiet sigh of defeat.

"...Were you telling the truth?" he asked in a small voice, staring miserably at the ground. "About children needing Pitch's fear? Or... or is there some other reason you want him back?"

The Piper simply stared back at him, and remained silent.

Finally, Cupid shook his head and turned away. With one last yearning glance towards the shadowed cliff-face, he beat his tiny wings and vanished into the mist without a backwards glance. The Piper stood, banished the table and chairs with a snap of her fingers, and turned on her heel with a whirl of her cloak. Without hesitation, she stepped off the edge of the cliff and dropped into the inky darkness below.

It closed around her without a sound.

 **To Be Continued...**

* * *

 **I'm back everybody! So sorry for the long wait, but my muse got distracted with other stories for a while, but it's finally swung back around to the Guardians! Please let me know what you guys think so far, and leave a review if you want me to continue with this one.**

 **Also, I went back and edited the previous chapters a little here and there, mostly fixing errors and things, and tweaked the Piper's outfit a little (she's wearing pinstripes now, because PINSTRIPES dammit why didn't I think of that before) but nothing major has changed.**

 **And as always, I hope you're enjoying The Pied Piper thus far.**

 **Raha**


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